Secrets in the Room of Requirement
by HeyLookTheSnitch
Summary: After a tedious fight, Lily and James find themselves twenty years into the future. A new side of James is revealed, James swears he's been cloned, and Harry's own life is put into jeopardy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_J.K. Rowling is the richest woman in the world…on that note, I can assure you I'm not her. All the characters, ideas, settings, and pretty much everything belongs to her._

**Summary: **_Lily and James are, unsurprisingly, fighting in an empty classroom about a piece of mistletoe that seems to be stalking Lily. What happens when someone's anger is pushed to its limits, and Lily and James find themselves a couple of decades into the future? Lily finds herself wanting a certain bespectacled raven haired boy, James swears he's been cloned, and Harry's own life is put into jeopardy. _

**A/N: **If you are reading this, I would like to say welcome! This is my first story that I decided to post onto this website, and I hope you find it enjoyable! Seeing as this is my first story, constructive criticism is always welcome!

Thanks for reading!

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Chapter 1:

No one ever said that magic had its specific boundaries. Magic doesn't come with a manual book, telling all of its tricks and gadgets it consists of, or the rules on how to use it. The special quirks of magic throw things at you fast when you least expect it, leading you down a long road of unimaginable experiences. Simply, one may think the point of magic is to provide knowledge to younger witches and wizards, but magic can be pushed beyond that; it can penetrate through a little thing called time.

"Potter, you are unbelievable!"

Lily Evans slammed the door shut, turning to face a smirking teenage boy with messy black hair. _Why did he infuriate her so much?_ Here they were, once again bickering, in some random classroom on the seventh floor that Lily hadn't even ever known was there before. If she had a sickle for every time she and Potter fought, heck she would be richer than the queen of England.

James Potter swept a hand through his already messy hair, an old habit, as his lips curled upward into a grin. "No need to inform me of that, Evans. I only do my best at being fantastically unbelievable at everything I do. Quidditch, school, chatting up the ladies…"

He watched as her cheeks reddened in anger and her lips pursed in annoyance, like she had just sucked on a particularly sour lemon. Her soft wavy red hair seemed to cackle with electricity as James braced himself for an extremely long, and possibly boring, lecture on his lack of responsibility, his confidence that tended to cross the line of arrogance, and his never ceasing pestering for a date with Lily Evans.

"If you think charming a large bundle of mistletoe to follow me around all day as a _'fantastically unbelievable'_ way to get a date for Hogsmeade, then you are quite mistaken," Lily seethed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Personally, I don't know what your deal is, Evans. If I were a girl I would be thrilled to receive such attention from myself."

James narrowed his hazel eyes at her as she snorted blatantly. "I pity your taste in guys then, Potter."

"Are you calling me gay?" James asked, decreasing the space between them as he took a threatening step towards her.

Lily rolled her eyes. She really was getting tired of this on-and-off flirtatious bickering. The stubborn side of herself wanted to hex James Potter into the next decade, but the other part, the half that would remain completely confidential, actually enjoyed their somewhat playful banter.

"It's a wonder how your head got so inflated when the size of your brain can be compared to a shriveled prune," Lily remarked, grinning slightly at her witty remarks that she knew damaged his ego no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

James laughed casually, crossing his arms across his chest. "Let us recap, shall we? What did you get on our last Transfiguration essay?"

Lily felt her ears grow warm as her feet shifted uncomfortably. Nevertheless, her deep emerald eyes glared mercilessly at him as his prominent smirk flitted across his handsome features. She mumbled something incoherent, grinding her teeth together in anger.

"I'm sorry, Evans, I'm afraid I didn't catch that," James pushed, his eyes shining from behind his glasses.

"An A," Lily grumbled annoyingly.

"Aha. And, I seem to have forgotten, what did I receive again?"

Lily clenched her fists together, fingering her wand dangerously in her robes. "I hardly see how this is relevant to the point," she said, trying to keep her voice calm and smooth.

"Oh, yes, 'the point'. You know, Evans, your know-it-all attitude can really turn a guy on." James replied sarcastically, plopping himself on a red velvet couch that had, strangely enough, appeared suddenly as James had been thinking about how much he would like to take a seat.

"You are an insufferable, arrogant, good for nothing, annoying git!" Lily exclaimed, her voice rising in volume.

"You seemed to have forgotten to list how incredibly handsome I am," James pointed out, throwing a wink in her direction, completely disregarding the insults she had hit him with; his interactions with Lily over the past six years had taught him exactly what buttons to push that would send Lily toppling over the edge. "It's a pity you insist on refusing my offers to go out sometime; we could have some good looking children."

Lily marched up to him, shoving her finger into his chest. "If you ever, and I mean _ever_, talk about having sexual intercourse with me again I'll hex you so bad that you will never be able to even hope of procreating with anyone."

James smirked, "As long as I still get to dream about it."

Lily's emerald eyes narrowed in disgust as she let out a strange sound that was somewhere between an agitated scream and a breath of forced control. "You are so…argh! I wish your pathetic little backside would be hauled somewhere twenty years into the future so you would be able to see how horrible your life is going to turn out! And, more importantly, so I would never have to see your face again. You make me sick!" She yelled childishly, stomping her foot on the ground.

Right as James opened his mouth to retort with a smooth comeback, the room began to spin violently so everything joined in a blur of color. Then James felt an odd sensation as the floor fell out from underneath his feet, almost as if it had disappeared altogether, plunging him into an infinite black hole of nothingness.

As quickly as it had started, it stopped. James hit the floor with a bone breaking crash, the force of the fall knocking the wind out of him. He tried to catch his glasses as they slid off of his nose. With a sickening crunch Lily fell on top of them, shattering the lenses to pieces.

James struggled to sit up to make sure that all of his vital organs and bones were still intact. Once he was completely positive that he was still alive, he turned towards Lily and held a hand out to her to help her up, which she openly refused with a killer glare.

"What the bloody mess did you do, Potter?" Lily demanded, brushing off her robes and looking around their surroundings. The room they had landed in was the exact same place they had left, yet something seemed to be out of place that Lily couldn't quite put her finger on.

James gaped at her, as he picked up his glasses and repaired them with a tap of his wand. "You're blaming me? You were the one caressing your wand as if you wanted to strike me upside the head with it! If anybody did anything, it was probably you, because my wand hasn't left my pocket! You can even check if you want," James added suggestively.

Lily gagged reflexively. "Where in the world did you get the idea that I would ever, under any circumstances, reach my hand down your pants? Wait, you know what, don't answer that."

"Easy girl, I never said anything about my pants. I mentioned my pocket, but if you want to, be my guest." James grinned, as he stepped closer towards her.

Lily shoved past him, hard. "Shove off, Potter." She made her way toward the door, perfectly content with the thought of heading back towards her dorm where she could rant and rave all she wanted about Potter to her friends. She wondered why she just hadn't done that sooner; it would have saved her from further interactions with the boy she despised the most.

"Wait," James called out. "We still don't know what just happened!"

"Knowing you, it was probably some immature prank you and Black decided to play. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back up to the common room where I have an unfinished Charms essay waiting for me. Goodnight, Potter," she said. James watched, flabbergasted that Lily didn't feel the least bit curious to find out what had just happened, as Lily marched over to the door, threw it open, and walked out of the room. He winced as she slammed the door with all her might behind her.

"Women," James muttered darkly, following her out of the door, planning on retelling what had happened to his three best friends Sirius, Remus, and Peter, knowing they would appreciate it and share his interest in finding out what had caused whatever had just happened.

As he closed the door behind him, a voice reached his ears, startling him. "Thirty points from…what house did you say you were from again?"

A girl, around James' own age, with thick dark hair was talking to Lily as James stepped into the hallway. Upon hearing his arrival, the tall girl turned to face him. "Well, well, well," the dark girl said, sneering at the sight of James. "'The Chosen One' is out of bed after hours…accompanied with a girl. Rumors say you have a thing for that blood traitor Weasley. Two-timing, are we? Maybe you have a bad side to you after all, Potter."

James took a closer look at this chick. Aw, Slytherin, typical. Just their luck to get caught by a Slytherin prefect, who would most likely deal out a much harsher punishment then any other house prefect would. And technically, Lily and James weren't out after hours…It had only been ten minutes after dinner time the last time he had checked. And, more importantly, he didn't know who the heck this Weasley girl was supposed to be; after all, he and Sirius had dated almost the whole school's female population.

"First of all, I think you have the wrong idea. And second of all, it's only," Lily stopped to consult her watch, "8:25."

"And who are you to give out detentions? You're not a prefect," James brought up, eyeing the girl up and down. She definitely didn't have sharp face of Narcissa Black or Bellatrix Black, who James was positive were both Slytherin girl prefects.

"Others may think of you highly, Potter, but I know better. I will not take this kind of cheek. I believe a week's worth of detention is in order for you and your so called friend here." The girl squinted her dark eyes dangerously, as if warning him to continue.

"Excuse me," Lily broke in, "I am a Gryffindor prefect, and as you claim it is after hours, I was doing my nightly patrols," she finished. Lily Evans didn't get detentions; a girl like her couldn't survive in detentions.

Snorting disbelievingly, the girl pulled herself up to her tallest height for a more dramatic effect. "You don't look very much like the mudblood Granger."

James whipped out his wand and held it threateningly under the girl's chin. "Watch your language!"

Lily took hold of James' wand arm and pulled it down to his side. Her mind was buzzing with confusion as she tried to figure this whole thing out. The spinning, the falling, the sudden erratic time change, and this pestering Slytherin she had never seen before in her life claiming she was a prefect…this was either some seriously messed up dream or one of the Marauders' infamous pranks. Still, only one person could explain what was going on; Dumbledore always knew the answers.

Lily suddenly rushed forward, clamping a warm hand tightly over James' mouth as it opened once again to most likely cuss the Slytherin out. "You're right. I really shouldn't be wandering the halls. I'm sorry, it won't happen again. We'll just show ourselves to the headmaster's office, thank you," Lily responded quickly, before taking off at a run dragging James behind her. The Slytherin prefect could be heard yelling insults and other obscenities after them.

Once they were three floors away from the seventh floor corridor, Lily cast a look around before shoving James against the wall, igniting the tip of her wand in order to see.

"Evans! What the—"

"Potter, if this is some cruel nasty prank you and your twisted friends have decided to play on me it needs to stop, _now_," Lily whispered quietly, very much aware that her voice would echo off of the stone walls and call attention to another Prefect or worse, a teacher. She really didn't want to have another embarrassing encounter if this was indeed some vindictive trick.

"Evans, I swear I didn't make this happen. But now that I think about, this would be a pretty humorous joke. Remind me to share it to Sirius, maybe it will be next month's prank," he joked, looking up at her face that showed no signs of joining in on his carefree manner. In an attempt to reassure her, James spoke seriously. "Look, I'm just as baffled as you are, alright? And why did that snake whore call me 'the chosen one'?"

Lily sighed, apparently trying to calm herself down. "We're going to go see Professor Dumbledore and get this all straightened out. And if I find out you had anything to do with this, so help me Merlin…"

James threw his arms up into the air in a mock signal of defeat before following her quick pace towards their Headmaster's office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, I swear!

**A/N:** Wow, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you all are enjoying it! Sorry if the chapters seem a little short; they get longer as the story progresses.  
Happy reading!

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Chapter 2:

Something seemed different about the wise aged man who sat behind the desk. James thought Dumbledore appeared older, not that he had ever been young since James had known him, but still James noticed more wrinkles than usual that lined his face. The familiar twinkle in his blue eyes was still apparent though as they looked surprised behind his half moon spectacles. _Why should he be surprised?_ James thought to himself, _I've been into his office plenty of times before._

He watched curiously as the two teenagers entered and positioned themselves at the front of his desk. There was a silence as their headmaster seemed to scrutinize them with keen interest. "Miss Evans, Mister Potter?" he asked finally, staring at each in turn.

Lily found it odd at the amount of astonishment in her headmaster's voice. Surely he had students call on him at night before. How could you not, living with the Marauders inside of the castle?

"Yes, Professor. You see we need—"

The old man looked slightly amused as he leaned forward, propping his elbows up onto his desk, peering at them. "How did you two get here?"

James and Lily thought this an odd question to ask. _How are you supposed to answer that?_ James wondered humorously to himself,_ Well, Sir, we walked down the corridor after being berated by some Slytherin, called out every sweet we could think of to your guarding gargoyle, jumped onto your revolving staircase…and, well, surprise._

James turned his head to glance at Lily, sharing a look of utter bewilderment. "We, I mean _I_," James corrected himself after a severe look from Lily, "knew you have an obsession with candy and after about five minutes I finally guessed the right password…"

"No, no, James you have quite mistaken me. I meant to ask, how did you get here…to this time?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't really know what you mean…" Lily said quietly, looking anxiously at her Headmaster as her heart beat seemed to speed up dramatically. The spinning…the blackness…the falling…oh, dear mother of Merlin.

"Miss Evans, Mister Potter, this is the year 2003."

A ringing silence preceded this statement and only the soft singing from Fawkes the phoenix broke it. James blinked a few times before rubbing his hair, causing it to stand up on end. Lily felt like she was going to pass out as her head seemed to spin, trying to comprehend this newest bit of information.

"But…how? Are you sure?" Lily stuttered, looking from James to Dumbledore as if waiting for someone to jump out and yell 'April Fools!'

Dumbledore chuckled slightly. _How could he be so bloody happy at a time like this?_

Lily thought annoyingly.

"Yes, Miss Evans, I'm positive what year this is, even though I am aging these days," Dumbledore winked at the two. "But as for how you got here, I was waiting for you to tell me." The professor pulled out his wand and with a flick of the slender black stick two chintz chairs landed onto the floor. "Please take a seat."

James smiled slightly as he plopped himself down onto the closet chair to him as Lily looked around confusedly before taking a seat herself. "I don't really know what happened," James began jovially, glancing at Lily.

A short feeling of loathing coursed through Lily at the excitement in James' voice. Apparently, he thought this some big, great adventure whereas Lily thought it to be a complete nightmare. A soft cough from her professor brought her back to what was going on, so she continued the story hesitantly. "Well, it all started with Potter—"

"—No, Sir, it all started with Evans," James broke in quickly, throwing a smirk in Lily's direction.

"Who was the one that hexed that blasted mistletoe to follow me around, huh?" Lily challenged, the presence of her Headmaster, Dumbledore, forgotten momentarily.

Dumbledore merely popped a sherbet lemon into his mouth, as he watched the two teenagers amusedly from behind his spectacles. "Did you ever think that maybe the mistletoe was just attracted to you off of its own accord?" James countered, crossing his arms in a defiance manner.

A very strange noise issued from Lily's throat, opening her mouth to retort. "You are so—"

"As I'm sure you two have many things to discuss," Dumbledore broke in, his eyes twinkling as he observed James and Lily. Lily jumped slightly at hearing her headmaster's voice, "I think we should just continue trying to find out how you two ended up here. Miss Evans, if you'll be so kind as to continue with the story."

"Sorry, Sir, Potter was just being such an arrogant, pompous…" Lily trailed off, her cheeks turning pink. "Sorry Professor," she muttered again, hanging her head.

Dumbledore's eyes laughed. "I've temporarily gone deaf and I have absolutely no idea what you just said. Please continue with the story."

Lily was a bit taken aback at her Headmaster's remark, and wasn't quite sure if he was being serious or not. "Uh…right," she answered awkwardly, shooting a glare at James.

"Yes, as the _lovely_ Miss Evans was saying," James took over, bowing his head courteously to her, "it all started when she dragged me off into some random classroom on the seventh floor…wait…" James eyes went wide as the new thought hit him, "it must have been the Room of Requirement!" James stated excitedly, looking at Dumbledore for approval.

"Yes, that room does have plenty of magical qualities, but something must have triggered it," Dumbledore suggested, leaning back in his chair, examining the two teenagers.

Lily peered at her headmaster, "Sorry, but what do you mean by 'trigger it'?"

"My apologies, Miss Evans. I meant to say, something must have triggered the reaction, the reaction that sent you two here. What happened next?"

James and Lily shot each other a quick look. "I, well, I started yelling at him and then it just kind of happened. It was like the floor had vanished and we were falling through space…until we fell straight into the same room we had left." Lily continued, amazed that neither James nor Dumbledore could see her heart pounding against her chest.

There was silence for a moment as Dumbledore continued to stare at the couple. After a minute, he suddenly got up and began rummaging through a book shelf along the wall, finally pulling out a heavy, rather dusty, textbook. It landed on his desk with a large thump as the Headmaster began flipping through its ancient pages.

James and Lily glanced at each other as the silent minutes passed until Dumbledore shouted "AHA!" causing both James and Lily to jump about four feet out of their chairs. "Miss Evans, or Mister Potter, did either of you wish for something, unknowingly, to happen?"

"I can't recall—"

"—YES!" James interrupted, "Don't you remember, Evans? You wished for me to get thrown into the future so you, and I quote, 'would never have to see my face again'."

Lily opened and closed her mouth several times, gaping like a fish that had just been thrown up out of the water. Bugger, so this was her fault.

"Right, so the reason you two are here is quite simple," Dumbledore explained, "you see, it happened to a young man by the name of George Hindington over a hundred years ago. He claimed to have traveled through time, but of course no one believed him. The idea was so absurd back in the day, especially since the last thing he could remember was subconsciously wishing to be somewhere else whilst inside the very same room you two were in. It also didn't help that he couldn't remember what had gone on in the future. Naturally, many Witches and Wizards have tried to confirm this theory, but no one has ever been able to accomplish it again."

"Excuse me, Sir," Lily said, "but if Mr. Hindington couldn't remember what had happened in the future, how did he remember he had been there at all?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Very good question, Miss Evans. Apparently, when he arrived back in his regular time, he claimed that he was wearing a coat he had never owned. Confused, he went around asking everybody whether they had ever seen this coat, but no one had ever seen anything like it. It confused matters even more when the tag inside of it told that the coat had been made in the year 1935, when Mr. Hindington's own time was 1901."

"So," began James, trying to put together everything they had just heard, "we were sent some thirty years into the future simply because Evans _wished_ for it to happen?" James asked incredulously.

"It appears so," Dumbledore replied, grinning.

For the first time in a while, Lily spoke up. "Well, then, let's go back to this so called 'Room of Requirement' and simply wish to go back to our time."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid it isn't that easy. Like I said, many investigators looked into Hindington's claim, but they were never able to time travel themselves. My belief is that you can't simply walk in and wish to see the future or the past. If it was so, we'd have people disappearing right and left. In order for you to go back, you're going to have to wish it without _meaning_ to wish it to happen."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but that doesn't make any sense," James stated, as Lily stared intently at Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry to disagree, but it makes perfect sense. You'll realize it soon enough."

James sighed, aggravated at their Headmasters evasiveness. "So, you mean we're stuck here until Evans and I figure out how to wish 'subconsciously'."

Lily laughed shortly, "With your brains, this could take a while."

"Hey! We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't wished for it!" James declared, shooting up out of his chair.

"I wouldn't have wished for it if you would just learn to pull your head out of your arse!"

"My butt is cute, thank you very much!"

"Quiet!" Dumbledore exclaimed with such force that the two teenagers quickly sat back down, occasionally shooting glares at each other. "Bickering will not help you solve anything. Now, I believe we need to arrange your sleeping quarters and time tables. You both will remain in Gryffindor and keep your same schedules you had in the past."

He tapped two pieces of paper with his wand and handed one to Lily and James. The papers had their individual time tables on them as well as the password to the common room. "Now, I must warn you that you must be careful with what you do and say while here in the future. We do not want to change the past any. On that note, I believe name changes are in order as well as appearances."

He walked over to James and tapped him on the head with his wand. James' hair and eyes immediately began to change colors, resulting in a light brown haired, green eyed James Potter. Dumbledore then did the same to Lily, changing her silky red hair to straight blonde and her deep emerald eyes to a dark blue. "I believe that should do," Dumbledore announced, stepping back to admire his handy work.

Lily and James gaped at each other. This was too weird…

"You two are now Jacob Gates and Lisa Carlyle, transfers from Beauxbatons, although originally from England; we don't want anybody suspicious about your English accents. Any questions?"

James and Lily shook their heads in a completely dazed fashion. James was running his hand through his new hair as Lily fingered her own.

"Well, then, I trust you'll enjoy yourselves and meet some fairly interesting people. Remember, anything you could do could possibly change the pass, so be cautious. Goodnight Miss Carlyle, Mister Gates."

As soon as the heavy oak door closed behind them and the winding staircase emitted them at the bottom of the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, Lily rounded on James, her face livid.

"If you think I'd _ever_ consider going out with you now, you're dumber than I originally thought."

James eyes glinted, swinging around to face her. "It's as if you're blaming _me_ for what happened when we both know, Dumbledore included, that it was all _your_ fault."

Lily's face turned a steady shade of red as she drew herself up to her full height. "My fault? _My_ fault? Tell me, whose fault is it that whenever you talk to me you always end up saying the most retarded things, resulting in me hating you even further. If you had never decided to bug me tonight and hadn't of charmed that wretched piece of fake mistletoe to follow me around all day, I wouldn't have yelled at you at all. So now tell me, whose fault is it_ really_ for being stuck here." She stared at him in disgust, her hands on her hips, apparently waiting for his answer.

Leaning up against the castle wall leisurely, he responded coolly, "It seems to me that you need better control over your anger."

A low, dangerous growl escaped from her throat, as Lily's mind screamed in frustration. "And it seems to me that you need to see a therapist for your stalker issues."

"Honey, I wouldn't be a stalker if you would just agree to go out with me."

Without warning, Lily swung her hand back and with a resounding _smack_ her hand made contact with the side of his face. "Bloody Merlin, woman, what was _that_ for?" He placed his hand tenderly over his stinging cheek which now supported a bright red hand print.

Lily smirked, relieved that she had let out her emotions before they had made her head explode, as she turned her back on him and walked away towards the Gryffindor common room. She was never going to survive this.

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**Next Chapter: **First day in the future...James' clone arrives...woohoo!  
Thanks for reading!

--HeyLookTheSnitch


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** If I was J.K. Rowling would I be writing a fanfiction story?

**A/N: **First, I would like to give a big thank you to the following reviewers: warm summer days, Phantom of a Rose, Kittyatza, and And So The Wolf Howls

Secondly,I would like to comment on a review from And So The Wolf Howls:  
I knew I should have looked into the date-thing more thoroughly than I did. Truth be told, all I did was look at the copyright date of my Philosopher's Stone book (which was 1997) and used that as the date of Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Sorry for any confusion!

Now, back to the story. Have fun!

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Chapter 3:

"So, how's Ron these days, Lav?"

"Amazing. He's so cute and not that bad of a kisser."

Lily groaned as she stuffed her head under her pillow, hidden by the scarlet bed curtains. She had been listening to these two girls babbling on for what seemed like hours. Luckily, they hadn't noticed an extra girl sleeping in their dorm yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Lily turned over quietly and glanced at a small clock next to her bed. 7:45a.m. When she had first woken up, she had thought she was still in her time and thought it odd that she wasn't hearing her best friend, Lena Clarke, singing in the shower as she normally did. That's when the dramatic truth had settled in and hit her hard.

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Lily silently sat up, smoothing her hair down. Spending all night tossing and turning in bed wasn't what Lily would call the most relaxing sleep, but at least it was about time for the school day to start. At least the work and the lectures would keep her mind off of the new troubling predicament she was now stuck in.

"Hey, look Lavender, who do you suppose that is?"

Lily froze, biting her lower lip nervously as she heard a set of footsteps approaching closer to her bed.

"It's probably only Hermione."

"No, she left for breakfast ten minutes ago."

Lily quickly ran a hand through her hair, trying to make it look more presentable, right as her bed hangings were ripped open.

Two girls stood before her, both with long dark hair, staring down at her in confusion.

Lily smiled slightly. "Uh, good morning. I'm Lil—I mean, Lisa Carlyle. I know it must be strange to find a random girl in your dorm but—"

One of the girls squealed loudly with excitement, sitting down on the edge of Lily's bed. "Oh my gosh. You mean, you're an exchange student?"

"Yes, from Beauxbatons, although my parents are English," Lily recited from her well rehearsed mind, recalling the information Dumbledore had told them. Hopefully, James would remember the information also; Lily snorted at her own hopeful thinking.

"I'm Lavender by the way," introduced the squealing girl, "and this is Parvati," she pointed to her friend.

"Nice to meet you," Lily responded politely.

"You can hang out with us," insisted the girl named Parvati. "Although, you might want to get out of bed now. Classes start in forty-five minutes."

Lily shot out of bed. Parvati and Lavender jumped backwards, alarmed at the new girl's haste to get to lessons. They watched as she stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door. The two girls raised their eyebrows at each other before a frightened scream came from inside of the bathroom.

"What is it?" exclaimed Lavender, throwing open the door.

Lily turned sharply away from the mirror she had recently been looking into. "Oh…uh…nothing. Yeah, er…just some split ends."

Parvati nodded understandingly. "I have them too. I recently found a new spell to get rid of them actually."

Lily just nodded, still breathing hard, praying for the two girls to leave the bathroom.

Thankfully, someone was answering her prayers. "Do you want us to wait for you so we can show you to the Great Hall, Lisa?"

There was silence as Lily looked around the room confused as to who they were talking to. Then realization hit her. "Oh, no, that's okay. I'm sure I can manage." Goodness, this was going to take some getting used to. First she almost had a heart attack at seeing her blonde haired, blue eyed reflection in the mirror, and now she had to respond to a different name…darn that James Potter.

* * *

James, or rather, Jacob, plopped himself down onto a red and gold clad couch. The fire crackled merrily, warming up the cold December room. _At least something was the same_, thought James as he took in the familiar sights of the Gryffindor common room. 

Having woken up to an empty dorm, James had decided to wait for Lily before going to breakfast. She was the only one he knew in this time and he was actually quite excited about spending a Christmas in the future with Lily all to himself, despite the smack across the face he had received from her yesterday. Yep, this would be his chance. She would finally give into him. Honestly, what was more romantic than a once in a life time vacation to the future for a Christmas present? It totally beat the snitch-decorated thong he had given her last year anyway.

The sound of footsteps caused him to look up in time to see a very pretty blonde walking down from the sixth year girls' dorm. James couldn't resist; he grinned warmly at her and winked as she descended the steps, and she grinned back, her cheeks turning a slight pink. At the same time the two did a double take and looked back at each other.

"Evans, that blonde hair suits you," James said confidently. "And I do believe you find me handsome due to the fact that you blushed like a tomato."

"Shut it, Pot—Gates," hissed Lily, quickly looking around the common room. She sighed in relief at seeing it almost empty. "I see my handprint is finally off your face," she said, smirking to herself.

A fake, short laugh issued from James' mouth. "Well, aren't you just a little ray of morning sunshine." Lily rolled her eyes angrily, biting back the words she so badly wanted to throw at him.

So, _Lisa_," continued James as Lily glared daggers at him, clearly reminding him that she still believed it was all his fault that they were stuck here, "I've decided to forgive you."

"Forgive me? Oh, how very thoughtful of you," Lily retorted sarcastically, exiting the portrait hole.

"Yes, I've decided that I'm actually quite looking forward to spending some time here. Think of it as an adventure," he said casually. "Oh, and I also forgive you for slapping me too. I know it was just a sign of affection."

"Why yes, because nothing says love better than a smack upside the face. Maybe next time I'll show you my undying love for you by knocking you into next Thursday," Lily exclaimed, stalking an angry five steps away, not wanting to completely draw herself away from James. Even though he was an annoying piece of turd, she didn't fancy the thought of walking into breakfast by herself surrounded by completely unfamiliar faces.

Lily hastily sat down near the end of the Gryffindor table, very much aware of the curious stares her and James were receiving as he took a seat beside her on the bench.

"This is slightly…awkward," stated James quietly, as two thirteen year old girls started whispering frantically and shooting hopeful glances at James.

"I thought you would be used to this by now mister Quidditch-captain-for-the-second- year-running," Lily exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, good point," he answered, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice; Lily rolled her eyes.

James let his eyes wander along the different house tables randomly as he began to eat his eggs and toast. Slightly further down the table, a red-haired, rather freckly boy seemed to be receiving a telling off from a girl with bushy hair for trying to copy her essay. James chuckled slightly, remembering how Remus had always tried to get Sirius and James to finish their homework early and own there own as well. As James thoughts took a walk down memory lane, his eyes focused on…_himself?_

James whipped his head around and fixed his attention on a young man with messy jet black hair and facial features just like his own. He even wore glasses.

"Evans," he whispered, nudging her slightly to gain her attention, "since when did they get mirrors installed at the Gryffindor table?"

Lily looked at him oddly for a second, "What are you talking about?"

"Look down there," he said, pointing to the spot where his clone was talking with the curly haired girl and red haired boy.

"What am I supposed to be…_whoa_," Lily stated, staring transfixed at the boy.

James sighed in relief, "Phew, I'm glad you can see your reflection too, because for a second there I thought I was going insane." James laughed nervously.

"He looks just like you," Lily gasped.

"Well, it is my reflection, Evans. No wonder you got an A on that Transfiguration essay—" He stopped abruptly as Lily shoved a small mirror under his face. He jumped back in shock upon seeing himself in the glass. "AH! What the…" He looked from his new reflection to the boy sitting down the table and then back again. "I've been cloned! Maybe, in the future, they've learned to clone humans!"

"Don't be ridiculous. It must only be your…oh dear Merlin, you reproduced."

James eyes widened as the shock hit him. "You mean, that's my…son?" James asked incredulously, looking back at the boy. A coy smile spread across James' lips as he turned to face Lily. "I guess I finally won you over after all, Evans."

A look of disgust flickered across her face. "In your dreams."

James upbeat attitude wasn't put down by her insults; he was far too used to them. "And apparently in real life. Come on, let's go meet our son!"

Lily grabbed onto his arm to stop him. "First correction, he's _your_ son and only yours, second of all, we can't do anything that will change the past or it might screw up the future!"

"Aw, don't be such a killjoy," James said, trying to make his way out of Lily's firm grasp.

"Dumbledore told us not to, Potter. He doesn't want anyone to know our true appearances; he must have had his reasons."

James watched disappointedly as the boy that could pass as James' twin, walked out of the Great Hall with his two friends. "Fine, fine, I'll be a good boy, but I'm going to meet him sooner or later."

It was definitely much sooner than later. As James and Lily walked into their first lesson, Potions, they were forced to sit at the same table as the boy from breakfast and his two friends.

"Hi," James said brightly, taking a seat next to what was supposedly his son. Lily had to use all of the restraint she had to stop herself from hitting James upside the head. "I'm Jacob Gates, and this lovely lady is Lisa Carlyle. We're exchange students from France."

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," the boy said, smoothing his fringe down over his forehead.

James threw a smirk over at Lily that clearly said 'I told you so' even though she had been the one to point out that it was his son in the first place, a clear expression of excitement on his face. "And what are your names?" Lily asked politely, stepping in before James could say anything stupid, a lame attempt to try to draw the conversation out of dangerous waters.

The pale, red haired boy turned a miraculous shade of maroon as he looked over at Lily. "Uh, I'm Ron Weasley," he said dazedly, staring transfixed at Lily. James watched the interaction jealously as Lily's feet shifted uncomfortably under the table.

"Nice to meet you, Ron," she responded. She could still feel Ron's eyes on the back of her head as she turned to look at the girl.

"Hermione Granger," the girl said as she shot a look of annoyance toward her friend Ron. The brown haired girl eyed Lily and James curiously until the opening and closing of the classroom door alerted the arrival of the teacher.

Lily gasped as a man with an extremely round middle and bald head stepped into the room. "Slughorn?" she mouthed.

"Good morning, class," he paused as he looked around at this students, beaming widely. His eyes seemed to shift automatically to Harry and he gave him a hearty wave; Harry lowered himself in his chair as if trying not to be seen.

Professor Slughorn's eyes then flickered onto Lily and James and he immediately jumped in excitement. "Oho! I almost forgot we have two new students here today. Lisa Carlyle and Jacob Gates." He beamed at them both and he gave a large wink to Lily, which took her by surprise. She had always been Slughorn's favorite student back in 1980, but he wasn't supposed to know who she really was…was he? Hopefully, he wasn't going to insist on her attendance to his famous 'Slug Club' meetings once again in the future as well.

"Now today we're going to be brewing the Draught of Peace, a very complicated potion but I'm sure you'll all do wonderfully." He waved his wand at the board at the front of the room and a list of ingredients immediately appeared there.

"You have a little over an hour. Winner will receive twenty-five points for their house. You may begin."

The class seemed to scramble for their ingredients as each student prepared their cauldron. After Lily and James had gotten together their supplies from Slughorn's cupboard they settled themselves back at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Lily got straight to work; Potions had always been her best subject. The table was quiet for a moment before she heard James' voice ask "So, Harry, you're a Potter then?"

Lily shot her head up and glared at James, watching for Harry's reaction. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, Ron rolling his eyes, as Harry looked up from his potions' book to look at him.

"Yep," he stated bluntly, once again smoothing down his hair over his forehead. Harry turned back to his textbook and began cutting up his roots. James took this as a signal that Harry didn't want to talk right now and shrugged to Lily who shook her head disbelievingly.

* * *

After the lesson, in which Gryffindor had received twenty-five house points due to the new girl's perfect potion, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were making their way towards Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

"I can't believe someone actually outwitted the Prince," Ron said to Harry, shaking his head in amazement.

Harry nodded as Hermione glared darkly into space. "What's up with you?" Harry asked her.

"There's something funny about those two," she responded. "I mean, did you see how interested Jacob was? He kept staring at you and asking you questions…"

"Hermione, who isn't interested in Harry? He's the most famous teenage wizard, having defeated You-Know-Who about fifty times now," Ron stated. "And besides, you're just jealous that another person is better than you in potions."

Hermione's face grew red as she made a weird sound in her throat, "Well, at least mine was the pinkish color described instead of the gooey brown yours was."

Ron gaped after her as she stalked off, her hair bouncing angrily behind her. Shrugging the little argument off, Ron turned towards Harry. "So, what do you think of the new girl?"

* * *

**Next Chapter:** James' finds a book that can tell him all he needs to know...

Until next time!

--HeyLookTheSnitch


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** _I only own my computer..._

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers: Phantom of a Rose, And So The Wolf Howls, kittyatza, AnIrishLily, andwarm summer days. I appreciate your reviews so much! You guys are the best!_

_I'd also like to give out a special thanks to And So The Wolf Howls: I'm so glad you like the story! Thank you so much for your wolf award for August! It means a lot to me! _

_There's a small flashback scene at the beginning of this chapter. It may be a bit unnecessary, but I felt like I should explain the type of relationship Lily and James shared from Lily's point of view, as most of this story is in James' p.o.v. _

_So, with that said, let us dive back into the adventure_!

* * *

**Chapter 4**:

_A loud bang echoed around the sixth year girls' dormitory, causing a girl with dirty blonde hair to jump at the sudden noise. Lily Evans marched in, her eyes burning with dangerous flames. Her rage took complete control of her actions as she picked up the closest thing to her, threw open the small window next to her bed, and chucked the item out of it. _

_The crisp November breeze flew in from the open window and into the room, picking up the blonde-haired girl's homework and distributing it around the room. Lily swore quietly under her breath. "Oh, I'm sorry Lena," she exclaimed, shutting the window and helping her friend pick up her now skewed papers, her anger ebbing away for the time being. _

_Her friend looked up at her, her brown eyes curious. "Who tied your wand in a knot and then fed it to the giant squid?" Lena asked, studying Lily._

_With an undignified growl, Lily's anger returned, "I caught him painting the bloody suits of armor red and gold."_

"_Oh, James."_

"_Yes, Potter and his army of prats."_

_Lena sighed, obviously having gone over this whole conversation multiple times before. Lily and James' fights had become well known throughout the students at Hogwarts for the past five years and it appeared as if their sixth year was going to go about the same way. "You know he only does it to gain your attention," Lena pointed out blatantly, already bored with the topic._

"_Unfortunately," Lily grumbled, crossing her arms tightly as she attempted to burn a hole into the bathroom wall with her eyes. Why was it that her best friend could always soothe her temper like that?_

"_And," she continued, "you know that it isn't going to stop until you give into fate and go out with him," she continued, beginning her homework again._

"_Again, unfortunately," the short-tempered red-head muttered. "But that is never going to happen," she pointed out crossly._

"_Why not?"_

_Lily faltered, thinking about the simple question. She had to admit, since the beginning of the year James Potter appeared to have grown up…slightly. Then again, there were still those times where he hexed Severus Snape, or asked her out, or pertained in immature pranks. "It's…it's complicated," Lily answered quietly, biting her lip. She hated the boy, yes, but she also found herself admiring him at times. _

_Lena merely continued to look at her calmly before resuming her essay. "I'm going to go get my extra credit assignment from McGonagall," Lily said briskly, changing the topic and standing up quickly._

"_Alright. While you're down there can you go out in the grounds?"_

_A confused look formed on Lily's face. "Uh, why?"_

"_That was my blanket you threw out the window."_

* * *

James looked up at the staff table as he tucked himself in for a delicious Hogwarts' dinner. Their first day in the future had certainly been interesting. Professor McGonagall had almost burst into tears upon seeing Lily and James entering the classroom, tiny Flitwick had boasted about "Lisa's" strong Charms work, and Hagrid, the game keeper, patted James on the back as he walked back into the castle after Herbology; Professor Dumbledore had obviously alerted the staff of Lily and James' return to the future. As weird as the reactions were, the only person that didn't seem remotely pleased in seeing them was Severus Snape. 

How in the world Snape had ever become a teacher was beyond James. Greasy Snivellus had always been obsessed with the Dark Arts, soaking up every word in every restricted book in the school library. James could have sworn he thought Snape was definitely in with the Death Eater crowd. And now, of all subjects, Severus Snape was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unsurprisingly, after the lesson, Snape had called James up to the front of his desk.

"_Well, well, well, Potter senior back so soon? And to think I would never have to see you again," Snape hissed, as Lily made a hasty retreat out of the classroom. _

"_Missed me that much, Snape?" James retorted. He was surprised at seeing a thin smirk dart across his old enemy's face. _

"_Me? I can assure you I have not. Others, well, let's just say some will be most pleased at seeing you after your…absence."_

_James shouldered his school bag as he glared at Snape. "What are you on about?" Absence? Had something happened to James in the future that he didn't know about yet? Or was this some sick mind trick Snape was trying to play on him? _

_Snape sneered, although his eyes were full of disgust and hatred as he looked down on James. "While you are here, Potter, you will treat me as a Professor and as a superior. You will address me as 'Sir' or 'Professor'. I do not plan on tolerating your amateur behavior and pranks while you are here."_

"_I don't think you thought my tricks that I played on you back in the day were so 'amateur' when I had you hanging upside down in front of the school, Sir," James responded coolly, despite the fact the Snape now towered over James by at least three inches. _

_Snape leaned forward over his desk and stared James straight in the eyes. "I have the power to do things to you, Potter, if you bend me the wrong way. Have I made myself clear?"_

_James turned his back on Snape and made his way toward the door. "I suppose so, but Professor or not, you'll always be Snivellus to me." James closed the classroom door shut, leaving a seething Defense Professor behind. _

"Potter," Lily whispered, "why is Snape glaring at you?" She nodded her head discretely in the direction of the hooked nose, greasy haired Professor.

James shrugged, stabbing his chicken with his fork, "Just had a…friendly…chat between two old schoolmates after lessons today. Nothing to worry about, Evans."

"Nothing to worry about?" she asked incredulously. "I refuse to get on the wrong side of Severus just because of you. This isn't just some school duel in the middle of a corridor; he could expel us, Potter."

"Well, I mean honestly, would it really matter? Someday soon we're going to leave this place anyway and go back to our own time where I can beat Snivellus to shreds all over again," James exclaimed, looking down the table where Harry was sitting with his two friends. James jumped slightly when Harry's eyes met James, the contact sending chills up and down his back. That look…he _knew_ that look…

"…are you even listening to a word I'm saying? And stop staring at Harry. He's probably already suspicious enough after you're idiotic behavior in Potions today," Lily said quietly so no one could possibly hear, looking severely at James.

James shook his head, tearing his eyes reluctantly away from Harry at the sound of Lily's voice. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Lily."

Lily's eyes widened, as her fork fell out of her hands and clattered onto her plate in shock. "Did you just say, 'I'm sorry'?" _Lily._ She kind of liked the sound of that. She shook her head, furious with her own thoughts.

James saw this as an opportunity to make amends and quickly seized it. "Yes, I really am sorry, well for everything." James took the opportunity of shocked silence to carry on. "I think we should put the past behind us and start over new. Shake on it?" James held out his hand as Lily looked wearily down at it.

She hesitated as she reached out to grasp his hand. _What was she doing? This was James Potter! _"Is this another one of your weird plans to get me to go out with you again?"

James laughed quietly, shaking his head. "No, it's just an offer to be friends." Lily still looked skeptical, so he added, "I promise." James crossed his toes for good luck, waiting for her answer.

Slowly, Lily grasped James' hand and shook it. "It's a deal…but one wrong move and it's over. And I'm using the word 'friends' very loosely."

James smiled genuinely at her. "Okay, we can be acquaintances then. Now, will you be so kind as to accompany me to the library after dinner?"

"Why?" Lily asked suspiciously, eyeing him.

"I want to see if I'm mentioned in any books. Something Snape said to me is making me think something big happened to me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Does your arrogance exceed no ends?"

"Hey! I'm not arrogant…I'm just confident."

Lily shot him a pointed look, an amused smile fighting its way onto her face.

"Fine," James said. "I'm overly confident, happy? Now, will you please come with me, Lily? Two heads are better than one," he smiled winningly at her, and for reasons unbeknownst to her, she caved in.

"Fine, as long as we can stop by the Room of Requirement before. But, you'll have to wait until I'm done eating, though. Not everyone can shovel food as fast as you can."

"I'll take that as a compliment," James said. His heart beat seemed to race considerably out of excitement, as it usually did before a Quidditch match or right before him and Sirius put their pranks into action. Never in a million years would James have guessed that he would turn to books for answers, but that seemed like the only option. Maybe he would finally uncover some things about himself and the mystery of his son, Harry.

* * *

"It's not going to work." 

Lily turned her back on the piece of blank wall and glared at James, placing her hands on her hips. "How do _you_ know?"

James stepped closer to her and spoke in a voice as if he was explaining what two plus two was to a five year old. "Well, didn't Dumbledore say that it had to be 'subconscious'?"

"So?" Lily challenged, not wanting to admit defeat so easily.

"_So_," James said, his eyes twinkling amusedly, "I don't think barging in and demanding the room to send us back constitutes as being 'subconscious'."

Lily continued to glare at him. She took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. "It's worth a try. Forgive me for wanting to get back to my own time. So, how do we get in there?" She turned back to stare at the empty stretch of blank wall in front of her.

"So young and naive," James taunted jokingly; he began pacing back and forth in front of the wall, passing by it exactly three times. After a few seconds a door magically appeared, taking Lily by surprise. "And voilà, mademoiselle," James exclaimed, holding the door open for Lily.

She stepped passed James and into the room that appeared to be an empty large classroom similar to the one James and Lily had fought in before being thrown into the future. She sighed, crossing her fingers, "Okay, here it goes…aren't you coming in, Potter?"

James, who was still standing outside of the room, laughed. "Are you kidding me? I still have things to do, people to see. And I still need to discover what Snivelly meant, so hurry up will you."

Lily rolled her eyes and turned her back on him, closing her eyes tightly. "Fine!" she exclaimed. There was silence for a moment as Lily began wishing frantically in her head. _I wish to go back to 1980._ Lily opened her eyes expectantly…and there was Potter, smirking at her. Frustrated, she shut her eyes again. _I wish to go back 20 years into the past…please_. She cursed under her breath as she slammed her eyes shut for one final attempt. _So help me Merlin, if this dumb room doesn't send me back to the past I swear I'll set it on fire._

"I hate to say I told you so," James stated, watching amusedly as Lily stalked out of the room of requirement and slammed the door shut.

"Shut up, Potter.

* * *

Lily rubbed her eyes tiredly, leaning her elbows on the small round table in the back of the library. "Potter, the library has been closed for two hours now and you _still_ haven't found anything." 

James emerged from behind a bookshelf, his wand ignited in order to see around the dark library. The librarian, Madam Pince (who was still alive after all these years), had left at nine o'clock not bothering to check the very back of the library where Lily and James had been sitting quietly, waiting for her to leave.

Lily jumped when James dropped a very heavy volume onto the table. "_Famous Aurors Through the Ages._ What is this?" Lily asked, flipping through the many pages.

"Well, I've always wanted to be an Auror," James said with a shrug, pulling the book away from Lily and turning to the very back to look at the index. "We probably should have started looking here."

"And how do you know you became an Auror, let alone a famous one?" Lily retorted.

"It's kind of a family tradition. For example, my great grandfather helped Dumbledore defeat some evil wizard back in the day, my great-Uncle Alfred died in an Auror combat, and my mom and dad have been fighting against Voldemort since he first rose to power in our fourth year…Aha! See? There's a whole chapter in this book labeled 'The Potters'. Page 451…lets check this out."

Curiosity overcame Lily as she pulled her chair closer to James and leaned in to read the pages along with him. "Yep, there's my grandfather, oh and there's good old Alfred," he turned a couple of pages until Lily let out a small scream of terror, as if she just saw something incredibly surprising.

"Oh dear Merlin, you are in here!" Lily exclaimed, running her hand down the page until it came to rest upon 'James Potter 1964-1986'.

James eyes widened. "I…died? I'm dead! No wonder Snape said what he said! It all makes sense!"

Lily patted his back sympathetically, "Come on, let's keep reading. '_James Andrew Potter was born November 19, 1964_'…" she skipped down a few paragraphs to the more recent dates "…'_In 1984 he married_…." Lily stopped mid-sentence, staring at the book as if it had been contaminated with a deadly disease. She looked up at James who was smiling at the book as if he wanted to pick it up and kiss it. "Oh dear Godric, there's _no_ way…is this a joke? You charmed this book to say this, didn't you?" Lily demanded, looking up and staring into James' deep hazel eyes; she had always been taught that you could see any lie through a person's eyes.

James shook his head, grinning widely, his excitement about to explode from out of his body. To her horror, James' eyes lacked the symptoms of lying.

"There simply _has_ to be another Lily Evans then," Lily said frantically.

James laughed. "Good luck finding another Lily Marie Evans who graduated from Hogwarts the same year I did," James said, holding the book underneath Lily's face so she could read it. It took all his strength to contain himself from jumping around the library and screaming victoriously at the top of his lungs.

Lily's cheeks turned bright pink as she stood up from the table and half walked, half ran to the front of the library. His happiness deflated momentarily. "Wait, Lily! Where are you going?"

"This is ridiculous! This must be a dream, a horrible, _horrible_ dream that I haven't woken up from yet. I'm out of here!"

"What is so wrong about being married to me?" James retorted.

Lily whipped around and stared at him. "There are so many things wrong with it that I don't even have time to list them all."

And with that Lily wrenched open the doors and slammed them shut, leaving James behind.

Dejectedly, James turned back to the open book on the table and closed it. Maybe it would be better if he finished reading the rest of it on his own…and besides the library was slightly intimidating in the dark. Picking up the book, James made his way out of the library and headed back to the Gryffindor Common room.

James concluded that women were officially from a different species. First, you had one comforting you after finding out you died before your twenty-second birthday, and then they ran out on you after finding out that they married you in the future. What was with Lily? Did it really kill her that much at the thought of marrying him?

His sudden rush of euphoria came streaming back into him as he thought about the prospect of marrying Lily Evans. The future certainly looked good; he was a famous Auror and he had married Lily! After years and years of pining after her and begging for her attention, he had somehow finally won her over. What he would give to see the look on his fellow Marauders' faces now. Yep, his future certainly was going to be great except for the one minor drawback that he had died…

* * *

Hermione sat at a table by the fire, her face obscured by the many books that surrounded her. She sighed as she dipped her quill into her ink, preparing to finish her essay for Flitwick. Hermione was determined to make her essay extra good; that new girl Lisa had outshone her today in Charms. If it was one thing Hermione took pride in it was her brains, and she couldn't stand being second best in one of her best subjects. 

Harry and Ron had long ago left for bed, leaving Hermione to suffer through her homework by herself. She jumped in surprise and nearly fell out of her chair when someone threw down a book onto her table, scattering her open textbooks everywhere.

As she struggled to reorganize her papers, she heard a deep voice mutter, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Hermione looked up and came face to face with the new guy, Jacob Gates. "It's alright," Hermione said, as she picked up her fallen things. "What were you doing out after hours?"

Jacob looked down at the book he had thrown onto the table, "I was at the library."

"Just for future warning, I am a Prefect."

"Right. Uh, sorry?" Jacob said, undoubtedly getting the impression that this girl was someone that wouldn't let anyone stray from the rules under her watch.

Hermione nodded as she squinted to see the title of the book, _Famous Aurors Through the Ages. _"You want to be an Auror?" she asked politely.

"Oh, yeah. You could say it's a family tradition," he answered, smiling.

"My friend Harry wants to be an Auror too," she said. Hermione watched for his reaction at hearing Harry's name and she wasn't disappointed. Jacob's eyes immediately brightened and he leaned forward. There was definitely something fishy about this new guy.

"May I look at that book? I'm quite interested in being an Auror myself," Hermione asked, as she reached out and took the book.

"So, you're pretty good friends with Harry then?" she heard Jacob ask her as she flipped to the page in the book that had been marked down. So, Jacob Gates had been researching the Potter family…she wondered how much she should tell him.

"I've known him since first year. Listen," Hermione handed the book back to Jacob and stared at him intently, decided to just be direct. "Harry has enough to deal with right now so try not to follow him around."

Hermione stood up and began gathering her stuff into her school bag. "Stalking people isn't one of my hobbies," Jacob informed her.

Hermione stuffed her last book into her already crammed up bag and turned to face him. "Good. Then I suppose you won't mind if I take this book back to the library tomorrow morning. I have to go there anyways, so I'll take it for you."

Jacob grabbed onto the book as Hermione reached out to take it. "No! I mean, no, I can take it there myself, thank you very much."

Hermione eyed him for a moment. There was something more to this guy, something that he seemed to be hiding. She would find out soon enough. "Okay, goodnight then."

* * *

**Chapter 5:** _Naughty, naughty Severus..._

_Talk to you in the next update! Thanks for reading!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** _Iwould rather notget sued by J.K. Rowling because she would most definitely win..._

**A/N: **_Thanks so much to the following reviewers: And So The Wolf Howls, miszhermoine, kittyatza, AnIrishLily__, I-see-thestrals, warm summer days, and Phantom of a Rose! You are all the reason I continue to post this story! Merci beaucoup!_

_I hope you enjoy the chapter! Oh, and I also wanted to point out that this is Harry's, as well as James' and Lily's, sixth year at Hogwarts. Just incase you didn't figure that out already...sorry if I confused anyone!_

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

His long black cloak sweeping along an old road, Severus Snape approached, what appeared to be, a once elegant mansion that its owners had neglected to clean. The shutters were damaged and hanging by their hinges, ivy was growing up the sides of the house, and the yard looked like it hadn't been cared for in years. All in all, the Riddle house was an eerie site to gaze upon and frightened many of the Muggles down in the local village.

However, the haunted silhouette of the house didn't invoke fear into Severus as he reached out and knocked three times on the front door. A heavy metal bolt could be heard scratching across the door, and the door slowly creaked opened to reveal a long shadowy hallway and a short, watery-eyed man.

"I have business to attend to, Wormtail, let me in," Severus demanded, pushing Pettigrew aside.

Surprisingly, Peter planted his feet firmly on the ground and stood, blocking the doorway. "The Dark Lord is currently busy and wishes to remain unbothered by those who haven't been called for," Wormtail recited, quivering as he looked up at Severus' face.

Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance as he looked down upon the pitiful excuse of a Wizard. "Step aside, rodent. He has asked for my presence."

Peter reluctantly stepped aside, allowing Snape to enter the dark hallway. The familiar scent of moldy rags and stale blood reached his nose, as Severus removed his mask and made his way up the rickety staircase. "Make yourself useful and bring us drinks," stated Snape over his shoulder. Wormtail glared at his retreating back and turned towards the kitchen, muttering insults under his breath.

"You may enter, Severus," replied a soft, yet powerful voice, the moment Snape's foot had reached the landing.

Snape entered the room and the door closed with a soft thud behind him. He lowered his head respectfully to the man in front of him and then stood straight again. "My Lord, I have important news to tell." A large snake slithered across Snape's feet and coiled itself around the black velvet chair its master was occupying; Snape seemed unfazed when the man and snake began talking in hushed quick hisses, and Snape waited semi-politely for their discussion to cease.

Lord Voldemort finally raised his head as a ghost of a grin flickered across his face, his deep red eyes staring straight into Snape's pure black ones, but it was not Voldemort's voice that replied but a woman's. "Does this have anything to do with your absence from our Mudblood campaign last month, Snape?"

"Aw, Bellatrix. So nice to see you again," Snape replied with a hint of sarcasm, inclining his head toward the heavily lidded woman in front of him.

Bellatrix Black stepped out of the shadows and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Snape. "Same to you," she spat, but her voice and gesture showed no pleasure in seeing the man in front of her. "So, are you going to explain or not?"

"That is between the Dark Lord and myself, Bellatrix. If he had wished to inform you, I'm sure he would have."

Bellatrix fingered her wand dangerously inside of her robes, "Are you trying to suggest that our Lord doesn't trust me—"

"Bella," Voldemort's voice rang out, echoing around the cold small room, immediately silencing her. "Severus was absent on my orders. Do you think he would be so ignorant as to show up here if I hadn't been notified of his nonattendance?"

"My apologies, my Lord," Bella replied, but she still showed no sign in accepting Snape's absence, or trusting him for that matter.

"Take it into remembrance that nothing gets passed your Lord, Bellatrix. I see and hear everything that goes on within my faithful followers, and it would be wise to remember that. Now, leave us, I wish to talk to Severus alone."

There was no mistaking the look of surprise and anger that crossed Bellatrix's sharp features. As she strutted out of the room quickly, she shot one last look of pure loathing in Snape's direction before the heavy oak door closed with a snap.

There was silence for a moment as Lord Voldemort surveyed Snape, the only sound coming from the soft trickle of water from a broken pipe. "Now that we are free of interruptions, Severus, what do you have to tell me?"

OOO

"I can't believe our team is short of one player…again!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in disbelief. "This is ridiculous. First Ritchie Coote catches the flu and isn't allowed to play for a week, and then as soon as we get him back we lose another player!"

"I'm telling you, Gryffindor's Quidditch team is cursed this year, mate," exclaimed Ron, patting Harry on the back.

Hermione put down her Charms book and stared at the boys. "Well, it's not Demelza's fault that her parents want her home. It's been happening a lot this year. Did you know the Patils want Parvati and Padma to leave?"

Harry jabbed his quill into his ink pot as he began scribbling away on his homework. "Bloody Voldemort is ruining my Quidditch team," he mumbled annoyingly.

Ron flinched slightly at hearing Voldemort's name but snorted all the same as he leaned back into the couch. "You could always get McLaggen; I bet he'd love that," stated Ron sarcastically.

Harry smirked, "Over my dead body."

A small cough behind him caused Harry to turn around. His eyes landed on that new guy, Jacob, who was leaning casually against the wall, staring at him.

"I hear you've found yourself in quite the Quidditch dilemma," Jacob stated. He seemed unperturbed by the fact that Hermione was narrowing her eyes in suspicion at him. "I think I can help."

Harry looked over towards Ron who shrugged. "Have you ever played?"

The trio jumped when Jacob let out a loud laugh. "Have I ever played? You're looking at the man who led his house Quidditch team to victory two years in a row."

Ron's eyes widened, as did Harry's. "Please tell us you're a chaser," Ron pleaded almost desperately.

Jacob smiled as he plopped down into a vacant chair. "It's your lucky day, mates."

Harry breathed in deeply, taking in a sigh of immediate relief as Ron looked upon Jacob with a look of awe. "Practice is tomorrow afternoon, will you be able to make it?" Harry asked.

Jacob nodded, swinging his legs over the chair as he stood up. "I'll see you then, Harry." Hermione glared slightly as Jacob smirked in her direction and winked happily at her before he disappeared up the boys' staircase.

Ron was looking at Hermione, his ears turning a dark shade of red. "Oh, so now instead of you and Vicky it's going to be you and that guy?"

Hermione appeared startled as she turned towards Ron. "What are you talking about, Ron?"

"What's the nickname going to be this time? Jacob Gatesy-poo?" Ron said, his voice rising. Harry looked in between Ron and Hermione before shaking his head, exasperated at the many quarrels those two got into. Honestly, Harry was about to lock them both in a closet and threaten to not let them out until they had come to some mutual agreement.

"At least it's better than Won-Won," Hermione spat back. She jumped up out of her chair, swung her bag viciously over her shoulder and stalked off to her dormitory.

"You're just jealous that I'm actually with somebody now," Ron retorted, calling after her.

Hermione swung around, her face livid. "Tell me, Ronald, what do you and Lavender ever talk about?"

Ron opened and closed his mouth several times, and then looked towards Harry apparently wanting help from his friend.

Hermione snorted. "If you think I'm jealous of a meaningless relationship then you are the most daft boy I have ever met." She gave one last deadly look at Ron before slamming her dormitory door closed.

Ron gaped up after her, momentarily speechless. The common room was unnaturally quiet as everyone stared from Ron to Hermione's dorm. "What are you looking at?" Ron demanded to the onlookers angrily, who all immediately began talking and doing homework again.

Ron turned towards Harry, who had his head bent low over a piece of parchment. "So," Ron began, completely blowing off the recent argument, "do you think Jacob's any good?"

OOO

James pulled back his sleeve and looked at his watch. Ten more minutes until the Quidditch practice he had been looking forward to since yesterday evening. Quidditch was the only thing that could take his mind off of things, and he definitely needed to clear his thoughts.

Lily hadn't talked to him since last week. Apparently, she had taken the fact that she would indeed marry James as a personal insult and refused to even look at him. James had tried to remind her that since Dumbledore had warned them not to change the past, they may as well start going out now, but that seemed to have only made things worse. Lily was now spending her time within the company of the two most gossiping girls James had ever met, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.

_Famous Aurors Through the Ages_ still laid underneath James' bed up in the sixth year's dorm. He hadn't been able to continue reading it due to the fact that he shared a dorm with Harry Potter. If Harry had caught James reading a book about the Potters that would certainly lead to awkward questions. He couldn't let Hermione catch him with the book either; she was already too suspicious as it was. But now that James was going to be on a Quidditch team with his son, maybe he'd be able to find out answers that way.

The cold refreshing air hit his face as James strolled out into the grounds. Up ahead he could just make out two figures with brooms on their shoulders. He ran to catch up with them. "Hey, Harry, Ron," James exclaimed, as he slowed into their pace.

"Hey, where's your broom?" Harry asked, looking at James' empty hands.

Bugger, he knew he had forgotten something. "Uh, yeah, I'm going to have to use one of the school ones," James said, rubbing a hand through his hair. He looked over at Harry who was staring at him, a funny look upon his face. After a few seconds however, Harry shook his head and nodded, not saying another word.

James looked over at Ron curiously, who shrugged his shoulders in response. Trying to strike up another conversation James said, "So, what's a Firebolt?" James asked, as he read the gold-letters embellished on Harry's nicely-cut broom.

Ron coughed in shock as Harry looked at him amusingly. "You're joking, right?" they both asked. When James continued to stare at them confusedly, Harry and Ron knew their worst fears had been confirmed.

"You've never heard of the Firebolt?" asked Ron incredulously. "It's only the fastest model of our time. Where did you say you were from again?"

Shoot. James mentally slapped himself, but was saved from having to answer as they entered the Quidditch pitch where four other players were waiting. He vaguely wondered how fast that baby could fly. James' broom, his trusty Comet 360, was the best quality broom back in 1980; it had even been used in the national Quidditch World Cup.

James got his answer as soon as Harry kicked off from the ground. A small drop of drool fell from James' open mouth, as she stared in awe at the power and speed of the Firebolt. Harry was nothing more than a red and gold blur and within thirty seconds had caught the Snitch and released it again. His son was amazing; his talent obviously inherited from his father's genes because James had never seen Lily on a broom in his life.

"Alright team," Harry assembled, as the other players raced to circle around their captain in midair. "We'll do a mock Quidditch game today in order to get Jacob accustomed with Ginny and Katie. Beaters, knock the Bludgers toward the chasers in order to distract them, but try not to injure anyone—"

"But if you do, make sure it's me. I have a Transfiguration test tomorrow that I would like to miss," broke in Ginny, grinning slyly at her teammates, her long crimson hair flying out behind her.

Harry tried to look stern, but failed as a small smile tugged at his lips. "I'd rather _nobody—_"he stopped, looking pointedly at Ginny—"ended up in the hospital wing. Now Ron, get into goal. I'll release the Snitch for me to find."

Two hours later, dusk began to fall as Harry and his team landed back amongst the ground. That had been the most fun James had enjoyed in a while. "Good job today everyone—"

"—Yeah, except Ron. Honestly, what do you call that last save you tried to make? A chaotic flail of arms and legs?" Ginny remarked sarcastically, good-naturedly picking on her older brother.

Apparently, in an attempt to look good in front of Jacob, or James, Ron had tried extra hard during the practice which actually just made him look extremely ridiculous. James watched as Harry tried to fight down a laugh as he looked at Ginny, her eyes bright with amusement. _What was it with Potters and redheads?"_

"Shut up, Gin," Ron retorted, the tips of his ears turning a brilliant shade of maroon. Harry hastily took control of the situation, as he dismissed his team and headed back towards the castle with Ron and James.

"…I'm just not good under pressure," Ron was grumbling, clearly trying to save himself some face in front of the two other boys.

"I know mate. I've seen you when you're on form and you make spectacular saves," Harry tried to reassure, throwing his broom over his shoulder.

"And anyways," Harry continued, "Slytherin's team isn't very strong this year, not like they were ever good, but according to Ginny their two new chasers don't know the difference between the Quaffle and the Bludgers," Harry was informing them as they passed by the Forbidden Forest.

As they rounded a corner near the Greenhouses, hushed voices caught James' attention coming from just beyond the trees. He tried to shrug it off, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Sh, be quiet for a second," he said to Harry and Ron, who looked at him strangely. "Come on, this way. It sounds like somebody is arguing."

Harry and Ron shot a look at each other as James quietly crept closer to the trees; Harry and Ron followed. As they got closer, the voices became louder and two voices could be easily distinguished.

"—you've put them in danger, Severus, as well as Harry," said the voice of Dumbledore. James looked over at Ron and Harry who were both listening intently, their mouths slightly opened.

"You know as well as I, Albus, that the Dark Lord posses power much greater than my own. I wouldn't have been able to hide it," Snape hissed back.

"I didn't think an old school grudge would have lasted this long with you, Severus," Dumbledore said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"If I may remind you, Potter tried to kill me—"

"My memory remains perfectly intact, and if I do recall, he ended up saving you, did he not?"

There was silence for a moment, as if Snape was trying to find some way to defend himself. "My Occlumency power does not measure up to his skills as a Legilimens. He would have broken through and found out the information anyway; furthermore, he would have realized that I am not loyal to him like I pledge to be—"

"That's enough. What's done is done. I need you back at your post and making regular updates to me. And, Severus, I do not wish for anymore of our secrets to be revealed to Tom."

They only had a split second to hide before Snape stalked out of the shadows and strutted off to the castle, his black robes bellowing out behind him. Professor Dumbledore emerged a minute later, rubbing his head and looking extremely old and tiresome. James felt his mind running at a hundred miles an hour as he looked at Ron and Harry a shocked, slightly confused look on their faces.

OOO

Harry paced back and forth inside of the boys' dormitory as Ron and James watched him. "After _all_ Dumbledore has told me about him completely trusting Snape, he still lost his patience with him," Harry said, rubbing his head and slumping down onto his bed.

"Dumbledore trusts Snape?" James asked in a dark tone, his hatred for Snape increasing to an alarming height that James thought wasn't even possible; Snape had put Harry, his son, in danger…Snivellus would certainly pay.

"He's going off his rocker," Ron stated, "no one stops being a Death Eater."

James' head shot up, "Dumbledore employed a Death Eater? He's insane! After all the things Snivellus did—" James suddenly cut off, looking up at the two other boys. Uh oh, he was in for it now. For a second, James had felt that he was with Sirius and Remus, but the suspicious looks he was receiving from Harry reminded him of the current situation.

"What did you just call him?" Harry asked, staring at Jacob as if he were seeing him for the first time.

"Ha, Snivellus, that's a good one, mate," Ron stated, chuckling slightly.

James thought quickly before getting his cool back, "Snivellus? What are you on about? You must have misheard me, but that name does fit him, no?"

Harry continued to scrutinize James, until his mind seemed to jump back on track to the problem at hand. "And I've never tried killing anyone, so I don't know what Snape was on about saying that I tried to kill him."

"Well, occasionally you'll make his life difficult, but to accuse you of murder…"

That's when something clicked inside of James' memory. Of course, he hadn't been talking about Harry; Snape had been talking about him, James. "You haven't," James said quietly, "but I have."

OOO

"_Snivellus is such a…there isn't an evil enough word to describe him," James shouted angrily, pacing around the sixth year boys' dormitory. The school year had just started and already James' loathing for Snape had risen to an all new high._

_Sirius Black sat on his bed playing exploding snap with Remus and Peter. "I dunno…what about greasy-haired arse, or Voldy's boy, or a-Slytherin-so-ugly-hell-is-even-going-to-spit-him-back-out, or—"_

"_Padfoot, I think you're blowing off Prongs' point," Remus stated simply. His face was extremely pail and sickly looking. He looked outside the window wearily and let out an aggravated sigh. _

_Running a hand through his hair, James exclaimed, "I wished he would get attacked by a werewolf."_

_A warning look crossed Remus' face as he stared harshly at James. "Would you really wish that upon anybody?" he asked firmly._

_James dropped his head, although he continued to glare at the floor. "Sorry, Moony."_

"_Well," started Sirius, his eye holding a mad glint, "the full moon is tomorrow…"_

"_Yeah, so?" asked Peter, looking at the cards in his hands carefully before making a move. _

"_So," Sirius continued, glancing at Remus, "technically, Prongs' wish could come true. All we would have to do—"_

_Remus dropped his cards, his eyes stern. "Sirius, no."_

"_We wouldn't have to hurt him exactly, just invoke some fear into the slimy git."_

"_You can't stop him from getting hurt, Sirius. I may be tamer when you are with me in your animagus forms, but I'm still a wild werewolf. I will not take that risk, and I can't believe you were even thinking about it," Remus retorted angrily, breathing deeply. _

_There was silence for a moment as James and Peter surveyed their two other friends closely. "Fine," Sirius said, breaking through the quietness and the tension. "I'm sorry, Moony." But that glint in his eye was still apparent._

OOO

Okay, so technically James' hadn't played a hand in the danger Sirius almost led Snape to, but he had been the one to plant the idea in Sirius' head. He should have known that his best mate wouldn't have dropped the matter as easily as he did.

James looked up at Harry and Ron who both appeared to not have realized James had zoned out as they were both busy abusing Snape.

He thought back to the discussion between Snivellus and Dumbledore. So, Harry wasn't the only one in danger; James and Lily were as well, but from what James didn't know.

* * *

Ohhh, what is going to happen next I wonder...oh wait, I'm the author! I already know what's going to happen! Hehe!

Have a wonderful day!

--HeyLookTheSnitch


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** _blah blah blah, none of it is mine...you know the drill. lol_

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers! You all rock my socks off: AnIrishLily, And So The Wolf Howls, Phantom of a Rose, Blossom1098, and warm summer days. Thanks for taking the timeto read my story!_

_Now, I'll answer some questions/comments from certain reviews from chapter 5.  
First of all, there is going to be more Lily and James coming up in the next following chapters. However, I try not to focus on only just them, because I feel like Lily and James would both want to spend time with their son to get to know him and what not. _

_Second of all, when I was writing the scene with Snape and Dumbledore I did realize that the spot they decided to have the discussion was a particularly dumb idea, because the two could be easily overheard. The only thing I have to back up my idea was that Dumbledore was so worried that he didn't really think about the fact that students could happen to be walking by the Forbidden Forest and overhear theirdiscussion._

_This next chapter is the chapter that gave me the most trouble. I re-edited it a ton of times, and I still don't completely love it. However, I hope you all enjoy it and please feel free to give me feedback. Also, this will be the last update for about 2 weeks. I'm going on a vacation with my family and won't be able to update until I get back. Once I return home though, I'll update as soon as possible!_

_Thanks for reading!_

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

Two days had passed since James, Harry, and Ron had overheard the conversation in the forest between their headmaster and Defense teacher. Each night Harry and Ron would attempt to decipher what the heated discussion had meant. Even though James knew the basic foundation already, he pretended to join in their discussions as if he had no clue what Snape could have meant. James was happy to spend time with his son; their little adventure after Quidditch practice had created a bond between the three boys, connecting them by the common goal to figure out the mystery that lay before them.

"Mister Gates, why are you late to my class?"

James grinned in his most charming way as he looked upon Professor McGonagall, who was very much aware of her tardy student. James rubbed his hands together happily, quickly concocting up a story. He had done this many a time with Sirius, so he was well practiced in this particular area. "Well, Professor, as I was walking down here, I stumbled upon a poor first year that seemed to be lost. Naturally, I just had to help the small unfortunate bloke and I—"

"Take a seat, Mister Gates," she said sternly cutting off his speech, although James could have sworn he saw the old deputy headmistress crack a smile as she returned to her lesson. He looked around the classroom for an empty seat and saw Ron and Harry, out of the corner of his eye, waving him over towards them. When he plopped down in an empty seat in front of the two boys, Hermione instantly stiffened, staring at James with an untrusting gaze.

"As I was saying," continued McGonagall, glancing pointedly at James, "Metamorphagus is the art of being able to transform one self's appearance painlessly. They are very rare and the gift is hereditary, meaning you must be born as a Metamorphmagus. Now, who can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a Metamorphmagus?"

For a fleeting second, James began worrying about Remus; the full moon was tomorrow night and he wasn't going to be there to assist with the transformation. His thoughts immediately settled, however, after he realized that time back in 1980 hadn't continued without him. With that final thought, James dully put his head in his hands as Hermione's hand shot up into the air from beside him, almost knocking his glasses off, eager to answer McGonagall's question.

"Yes, Miss Carlyle?"

James had to stifle his laughter as Hermione dejectedly put her hand down and glared at Lily who was now perfectly answering the professor's question. It seemed as if Hermione had met her academic match.

"What the…" James muttered quietly to himself. A piece of balled up paper had suddenly connected with the side of his head, knocking James out of his daydream. He turned to look in the direction of who had thrown it, but was unable to find the culprit. Unsurprisingly, his eyes landed upon a certain red-headed beauty who was staring straight back at him. Unfortunately for James, her eyes didn't show a sign of liking, but a sign of a distinct loathing. James silently cursed himself for ever finding that Auror book. If he hadn't of started reading it, they would never have found out Lily would become James' wife, and James would still be on considerably good terms with Lily…blasted book…

"Mister Potter."

James head shot up at the sound of his last name being called out by the teacher. "Yes, Professor?" he asked, convinced that she had caught him not paying attention. A confused expression crossed James' face as he rubbed a finger in his ear. He could have sworn two voices had answered McGonagall just then. He could feel Lily's eyes digging into the back of his head and he winced. Oh man, he had blown it.

"Excuse me, Mister Gates?" Professor McGonagall turned from facing Harry, who was staring at James confusedly, to stare at James. She shot a look of warning at him, silently reprimanding him for his idiotic mistake.

He desperately hoped his voice would come out cool and collective. "My mistake, Professor. Potter, Gates, both names sound so much alike." He smiled winningly up at her, hoping the rest of the class would buy his little charade. A couple students snickered.

The deputy headmistress's eyes flashed dangerously. She shook her head slightly in an agitated manner. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor, Mister Gates. As for you, Mister Potter, I'm sure Mister Weasley would be able to improve his essay scores if you stopped passing notes in my class."

Harry nodded, grinning towards Ron who was chuckling quietly. Hermione simply rolled her eyes, picking up her quill once again and resuming her notes. James sighed in relief, before going back to his position of staring blankly out the window.

OOO

"Oy! Lisa," James called out, as soon as the bell rang an hour later, relieving him of his boredom.

Lily kept on walking, her long hair bouncing behind her as she chatted with Parvati Patil. _Is she ignoring me because she doesn't want to talk to me, or is she still not used to people calling her Lisa?_ James shrugged and quickened his pace until he was right behind the two girls. Lily jumped when James grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the crowd, leaving a confused Parvati to wonder where her friend had gone. He pulled her into a small alcove in the wall, just big enough for the two to stand in.

"_What_ do you want?" Lily hissed, slapping his wrist off of her hand.

"I need to talk to you," James answered, dropping his voice.

"Well, I don't." She made to walk back out into the traffic of people in the hallway, but James grabbed her by the arm, dragging her back.

"Listen, we're in danger. I really don't want to be overheard, so I'll explain everything if you just follow me to a more secluded location."

"I gave you _one_ chance, Potter," she said, slamming her finger into his chest. "One chance for us to be civil towards each other, and you blew it. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to Parvati."

James growled angrily, tightening his grip on her arm. "What did I do, Evans? I'll tell you what I did. Nothing. I didn't know that book would say what it did. It's not _my_ fault you flipped out, but if you want to stay safe I suggest you put aside your feelings toward me and let me explain what needs to be explained."

He watched as her eyes widened at the harsh tone he had adopted with her. The surprise in her eyes quickly vanished, and emerald slits now glared at him. She lifted her foot and stomped on his shoe, hard. The force of the impact caused James to release his grip on her. Angrily, she stabbed her index finger under his nose. "I don't need you to keep me safe." And with that she stormed off, and he lost her in the midst of the crowd.

OOO

_What if he was telling the truth?_

_What if he wasn't?_

_He could have had something important to tell you._

_Anything that's important to him isn't worth my time._

_What about Harry?_

Lily closed her eyes tiredly, leaning her head against her bed post. She banged her head against the dark stained wood, trying to stop the voices in her head. What if she was in danger? What if James had found something out and really was trying to warn her? What if Harry was in danger?

Despite the fact that marrying James Potter and having a kid with him frightened her beyond anything else, she still realized Harry was her son too. Maybe what frightened her most about that fact was that James had been her rival for years, driven her insane, caused her to lose her temper more than she could count, and yet she had _had_ a child with him. Or maybe, what frightened her most, is that a small part of her was pleased at the prospect of marrying James.

She had to admit, the boy was annoying, immature, and occasionally a bit arrogant, but his good qualities stuck out amongst those and she felt herself admiring some of them. The way he was forever loyal to his friends, the way he seemed to always match her in school subjects without trying half as hard as she did, the way he could have fun and not care about what others thought of him. Deep down, she knew part of the reason she always fought with James was because, maybe, she really didn't _hate_ him as much as she claimed to.

Another round of banging her head on the bedpost followed these new and scary thoughts. Why hadn't she just let him explain to her what he wanted? Now, it was driving her crazy and she needed to know what was up. Also, she needed to get away from Lavender and Parvati. The two girls were nice enough, but they were way too giddy and girly for her, and to put it frankly, they were driving her up the wall.

Lily rubbed her forehead, feeling the small lump that was beginning to form thanks to her method of trying to straighten out her thoughts by hitting herself. She knew she would have to talk to James sooner or later, and part of her wanted his companionship again.

OOO

Hermione and Ron quickly dodged a pair of viciously thrown socks as Harry continued to throw random items out of his trunk in an attempt to locate the Marauder's Map.

"Harry," started Hermione, "I think you should spend a little less time on obsessing over Malfoy and a little more time on figuring out what Dumbledore and Snape were arguing about last week."

Harry straightened up with the map held successfully in his hand. "Malfoy has something to do with all of this, I just know it. And I do not 'obsess over Malfoy'."

Ron raised his eyebrows slightly. "I think this would be considered stalking, mate," he stated as Harry cursed under his breath at not finding the little dot labeled 'Draco Malfoy' in the Slytherin common room or any of the boys' bathrooms.

Harry turned to glare at the two of them before turning his attention back to his map. "Look, are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help me find him?"

Ron and Hermione shot each other a look that clearly said 'Maybe we could leave quietly and he wouldn't notice', before getting up and leaning over Harry's bed in order to get a good view of the piece of parchment.

"He's not in any of the classrooms," Ron said in a bored tone after five minutes of scanning the hundreds and hundreds of labeled dots. "He's just not here."

"He has to be here! Where else could he go? I mean, Filch has all the entrances and exits to this school wired, Malfoy couldn't possibly get out of the castle," Harry said, punching his fist into his comforter.

"Unless he's using one of the secret passages. I mean, it wouldn't be the first. Sirius got into the castle in our third year by using one," pointed out Hermione in a knowledgeable tone only worthy of Hermione Granger.

"Yeah, but Sirius wasn't an evil Death Eater, was he?" Harry shot back.

"Well, no one knew that at the time. We all thought he was out to kill you," Hermione argued, trying to make her point and convinced that she was one hundred percent correct.

Ron, predictably, came to Harry's defense. "But Harry's all alive and well now, isn't he? That passage practically provided Harry with his Firebolt, it isn't providing an escape route to people like Malfoy. And besides, he wouldn't even know that the passages exist."

Hermione rolled her eyes, completely fed up with both of her best friends, especially her red headed friend. The fight that had occurred between them earlier that week didn't help her temper with him either. "You two are unbelievable. My point is—"

But what exactly her point was, Harry and Ron never found out, because before either of them could do or say anything Hermione had gasped audibly, grabbed the Marauder's map out of Harry's hands, and ran out of the boys' dormitory.

"What the dear mother of Godric Gryffindor was that all about?" Ron asked startled, staring blankly at the closed door.

OOO

James was sitting alone at the back of the library, studying quietly for his Charms test Professor Flitwick had warned the class about earlier that day. Yes, it had shocked him too when he had found himself heading for the studious corner of the library, but frankly, he had nothing else to do. Quidditch practice wasn't until Wednesday, Christmas holidays were still two weeks away, his faithful Marauders weren't here to plan pranks, and Lily still hadn't talked to him, a pity too since he had some new developments to share with her concerning himself and what he had overheard with Snape and Dumbledore.

It was very quiet at the table he was sitting at, almost too quiet. One of those moments where you think someone is just about to jump out of nowhere and scare the guts out of you. So, it wasn't completely unexpected when James jumped a foot in the air and fell out of his chair when a small cough broke through the lack of noise.

"Bloody mess, Evans, what was that for?" gasped James, as he scrambled to his feet trying to stop the blush that was spreading over his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, sitting down in the chair beside his, trying to suppress the giggles that were trying so hard to escape from her mouth.

"What do you want?" he asked, looking at her.

She looked somewhat amusedly at James' open notes and Charms book that were spread out in front of him. "Finally decided to open a textbook then?" she asked, trying to lighten the situation.

"Look, if you just came here to mock me about my study habits then you can just bugger off."

Lily opened and closed her mouth as she shifted uncomfortably, trying to fish for the right words. "I just wanted to apologize for the way I've been treating you," she stated, pretending to be interested with a coffee stain on the table surface.

James stared at her, unable to stop the slight smirk from appearing across his face. "Lavender and Parvati are driving you nuts, aren't they?" he asked.

"Merlin, yes!" Lily exclaimed, sighing loudly and throwing her hands up in the air. "They are going to send me to the psychotic ward of St. Mungo's Hospital if I continue to hang out with them."

James chuckled slightly and Lily soon started laughing quietly too. "So, what you're trying to say is you're sorry for hating me and that you'd much rather hang out with me than those two girls?" James summed up, grinning.

Lily shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. And, I'm...well…I'm quite interested in learning more about…our son."

Lily began to blush profusely as James stared at her in amazement. _Did she just say 'our son'?_ James thought. This would have been a perfect opportunity to come up with a witty sarcastic comment that would most likely end up with Lily slapping James and then storming off, but instead James' mature side stepped into play, much to his surprise as well as Lily's.

"Well then, I have some things to share with you," James started, leaning forward as if he were about to share and incredibly secret piece of information.

Lily and James both jumped and whipped their heads around when a voice spoke from behind them. "Yes, I believe you _do_ have something to share with me."

James gulped as Lily looked in between the two confusedly; had she missed something important?

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" James asked, his eyes shifting from Lily to Hermione.

Hermione held up, what appeared to be, a piece of parchment. She walked closer to the table where Lily and James were sitting and slapped the paper in front of James, who looked down at it curiously. James gasped at the all too familiar heading that was spreading across the page.

_Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

_are proud to present_

_THE MARAUDER'S MAP_

James ran a hand nervously through his already messy hair as he looked up at Hermione's satisfied face. "How did you get this?"

"I think the real question is how you two got here?" she retorted. James was slightly startled to see the formation of glistening tears forming behind Hermione's dark brown eyes.

Lily, still not sure of what was going on, or who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, or Prongs were, decided to speak up. "Well, obviously we took a train here from France…" but she broke off as James shook his head discretely, as if telling her to stop.

"I don't understand…" Lily tried again to get some answers but was cut short as a head of bushy brown hair obscured her vision and a hug so strong knocked out her ability to speak.

"The map never lies…Lily," Hermione said quietly, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

OOO

An hour or so later, after Hermione had finally calmed down and everyone's confusion had been cleared up, James, Lily, and Hermione still sat at the table in the back of the library, filling each other in on all that had happened.

"Amazing," Hermione said, as she looked in between James and Lily. "Changing appearances is supposed to be an incredibly advanced piece of spell work…Dumbledore is good. No one could ever have guessed who you were."

"Until the Marauder's Map came along…yep, the good ole' map, never fails," James said affectionately, patting the map as if he were rewarding a dog with a pat on the back.

"So, what exactly is this map?" Lily asked, eyeing it with curiosity.

"Well, it's actually quite simple. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I made it, mostly so we could navigate the castles easily without being spotted," James answered.

"It's helped us out of a couple tight spots too," Hermione added, remembering the many times she, Ron, and Harry had used it.

"How did Harry get it?"

"Hm, well it's quite a long story. Basically, Filch must have confiscated it off of you guys back while you were still in school, because Fred and George Weasley nicked it from Filch and then gave it to Harry in his third year," Hermione recapped.

James' eyes went wide, his grip on the map tightening. He gasped, "One of the Marauders let the sacred map fall into the hands of the Squib caretaker? That's disgusting!" James exclaimed dramatically, clutching the map to his chest.

Hermione and Lily rolled their eyes, trying not to laugh. "Honestly, James, why don't you just marry the thing?" Lily replied sarcastically.

"I would…but that would be considered as cheating on you," he replied smoothly winking at her.

For some strange reason, Lily felt herself blush and she quickly looked away, turning her attention back to Hermione who was smirking at them both. "Okay, well now that you know the truth, could you please not share it with anyone else? That includes Harry," Lily said, taking control of the situation.

Hermione looked from James to Lily. "I…well, you're going to have to tell him sometime," she finally answered.

James nodded in agreement. "I agree."

Lily's stomach dropped. She had been expecting this, but for some reason she was hoping James would have agreed with her. How do you just let your son know that you're his dead parents in their teenage form…wait, screw that, they didn't even look like themselves. This was seriously screwed up. "But—" Lily began, before James cut her off in a surprisingly soft, caring voice.

"Listen, Lily. Put yourself into Harry's shoes. His parents died when he was only one and he's never known them. Now, he might finally have a chance at meeting them, and I think he would like that," James said quietly, looking straight at Lily.

They maintained eye contact for a while, both forgetting for a moment that Hermione was there. Lily awkwardly broke the eye contact and looked toward Hermione. She sighed deeply. "Hermione, you know him better than we do. If you feel like he should know then…" she looked at James who was grinning encouragingly. "Then I guess we'll tell him…but only when I feel it's right," she added quickly as James let out a whoop of triumph.

OOO

Hermione and Lily left James at the foot of the boys' dormitory before climbing up to the girls' dorm. It was pretty quiet considering it was nearing eleven; their two other roommates must have already hit the sack.

Hermione and Lily didn't say a word to each other as they pulled out their pajamas, got dressed, and then crawled into bed. It wasn't until ten minutes later when Lily called out quietly, "Hermione, can I ask you something?"

Lily could hear Hermione's bed springs creak as Hermione shifted positions, most likely to try to get a better view of Lily, which was a total waste of time seeing as it was pitch dark in the room. "Sure, but depending on the question it may not be right for me to answer," Hermione replied.

Lily didn't know how to phrase her question without sounding paranoid and weird, but on the other hand she had to know. "Hermione, do you know if…well…if James, you know? Slipped me a love potion or forced me to marry him or something?"

There was a shocked second of silence before Hermione started laughing quietly, causing Lily to blush slightly. "Would he honestly do something like that?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past him," Lily answered truthfully.

"You really don't like him, do you?" Hermione asked.

Lily pondered that question for a moment. Did _she really not like him?_ "I…I dunno," she finally said, letting her words fall away. She greatly appreciated the fact that Hermione didn't try to push the answer further.

A couple of minutes passed in silence as both girls seemed to be thinking deeply. In Lily's case, all her previous thoughts about James Potter clashed with her new thoughts of him in a full blown out war inside of her head. It was like every time Lily tried to reassure herself that James was nothing more than an arrogant show off, then a picture of him studying seriously in the library would pop in and push the arrogant side of him out of her mind…yeah, she was definitely going insane.

Lily jumped slightly when Hermione began to speak again. "But to answer your first question, no, he didn't. From what I know, you two really loved each other and both got married willingly."

Lily's heart seemed to flip inside of her chest and she couldn't help but smile. She buried her face into her pillow and finally drifted off to sleep, having weird dreams of a messy black haired man, cake, and for some reason a flying motorbike.

* * *

Reviews are always nice to recieve!

See you all in two weeks!

--HeyLookTheSnitch


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** _Do I really need to keep repeating myself? It's not mine!_

**A/N:** _Hey everybody! I'm back from holiday! It was a lovely time and I enjoyed it greatly! Sorry for the long wait, but I didn't have access to a computer, but I'm updating now! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best and I'm so happy you are all enjoying my story!_

_Also, I would have updated about two days ago, but for some odd reason this website wouldn't let me upload the next chapter...but now it's finally working! YAY! hehe._

_Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter! Happy reading!_

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 7:**

"No, Sirius!"

James awoke with a start, reaching out for his glasses and shoving them onto his face, trying to locate where all the commotion was coming from. As his eyes adjusted he made out the figure of Ron desperately trying to untangle a thrashing Harry from his bed sheets.

James jumped out of bed and rushed over, soon joined by Neville, Seamus, and Dean. "Help me, will you?" Ron said, attempting to rouse Harry from his dream.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to think of a way to help wake Harry up. Doing the first thing that came to his mind, James grabbed the pitcher of ice cold water resting on the windowsill and dumped it on a fidgeting Harry who instantly woke up.

"Arghh, what in the name of Godric Gryffindor was that for?" Harry asked, sitting straight up in bed. It was hard to tell if the water running down his forehead was sweat or from the unexpected surprise of being woken up very crudely by freezing water.

James laid the pitcher back onto the ledge and looked at Harry, a look of pure curiosity in his eyes. "Sorry, but you were having a dream or something. You kept saying…Sirius," James said, staring at Harry.

Harry shot a quick look at Ron, all the color from his face dropping so his skin was ghostly white. Harry looked from Neville's sympathetic face, to Dean and Seamus' curious features, to Ron who was just as pale as he was, and finally to James whose eyes held such a true look of concern that it took Harry by surprise.

"Uh…" Ron said uncomfortably. "Thanks for the help, guys…er, let's just go back to bed, shall we? You know? Classes tomorrow, would hate to wake up late."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, missing Snape's Defense class…that would be a pity," he exclaimed sarcastically. Slowly, Dean, Neville, and Seamus made their way back towards their bed as did Ron, but James stood stock still, still staring at Harry. Could Harry possibly have been screaming out Sirius' name? Sirius Black? James' best mate since first year? Of course Sirius would be in the future as well. It was stupid to not have realized that. For some reason, James just assumed that since he had died Sirius had gone down with him.

Finally, James made his way back to his bed and pulled the covers up over his body. The quietness of the room eventually got back to normal as his roommates began to slowly drift back off to sleep. James stayed awake however, wondering where the older Sirius was and why Harry had been screaming his name in his sleep.

However, James wasn't the only one lying awake. Harry laid there in his now wet bed, deeply confused. He knew those facial features of Jacob…he had seen them before, but the problem was, Harry couldn't remember where.

OOO

James sat in front of the welcoming fire, checking his watch every other minute. Honestly, how long could two teenage girls sleep in on a Sunday morning? He had half a thought of changing into his Animagus form and going up into the girls' room as a Stag, but knew that wouldn't be a nice sight to wake up to. So, instead James sat and waited, trying to mull over everything that had happened the night before.

James didn't quite know why he was getting so worked up about the whole Sirius issue. Naturally, it made sense to James that he would have given Sirius, his best mate ever, permission to watch over his son if something was going to happen to James and Lily. Yet, the way Harry had yelled out Sirius' name in his sleep was slightly unsettling and made James' insides squirm uncomfortably.

His head shot up at the sound of hushed voices descending from the boys' dorm. Upon seeing James in the common room, Harry and Ron immediately stopped their talking as they approached him.

"Hey, Jacob," Ron said, yawning slightly and plopping down onto an empty armchair.

James nodded distractedly and chanced a quick glance at Harry, who was already looking at him with a hint of suspicion hidden beneath his eyes. "Quidditch practice tonight," Harry said finally, ruffling his hair. James had to use all the self-restraint he could to stop himself from laughing aloud; he could perfectly picture himself sitting by the lake with his fellow marauders, running a hand through his own hair, trying to impress a pretty young girl with long red hair.

James was snapped out of his reverie as he heard an obnoxious snort from Ron as a frustrated Harry threw the morning newspaper onto the small table in front of the couch. James looked up at them curiously and then began to crane his neck in order to get a good look at the front page. Luckily, Harry and Ron were too busy abusing, what James thought to be the Ministry of Magic, to notice James' not-so-subtle attempts to catch a glimpse of the newspaper.

**The Chosen One, Again, Refuses to Meet with Minister of Magic**

_Rufus Scrimgeour, the newly instated minister of magic since late July of this year, has once again been denied the privilege to meet with Harry Potter, the boy destined to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_Harry Potter, now aged sixteen and currently attending his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is connected to the break in at the ministry last June, and since then rumors of a destined prophecy have been formed which links him and You-Know-Who. Mister Potter was, apparently, unavailable last night for comment, according to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School._

_This is the second time in the past month the minister has requested a meeting with the famous boy wizard and the second time he, and the rest of the Wizarding world, has been let down._

James' thoughts became even more confused after he finished reading the article. He, again, looked up and stared at Harry. His son was famous? This normal sixteen year old boy sitting in front of him was the one who could kill Voldemort? That brought another terrifying thought into the picture as well; Lord Voldemort must still be alive and kicking. James thought back to 1980 and remembered how his parents, high ranked Aurors, had been trying to bring down Voldemort and his supporters since James' fourth year at Hogwarts. He really needed to talk to someone; he really needed to talk to—

"Hermione!" James exclaimed, jumping off of the couch and rushing over to the bottom of the girls' staircase where a tired looking Hermione and Lily were standing. "We need to talk."

"Jeez, we don't even get a 'good morning' first?" Lily replied, rolling her eyes and sharing an amused look with Hermione.

James stared at them. "How terribly rude of me. Good morning, _dear_," he replied, winking at Lily. Once again, Lily felt her cheeks flush slightly.

"Oy! Hermione," Ron called out from across the common room. James, Lily, and Hermione turned to face the two other boys. James was slightly surprised to find Ron staring daggers at him.

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione replied crisply.

"Harry and I are heading to breakfast, are you coming?" he asked, as he and Harry rose and began making their way towards the portrait hole.

Hermione quickly looked at James and Lily; James pleading silently for her to stay with them. "Actually, I'll catch up with you guys later," Hermione responded; she could actually hear James' sigh of relief before he grabbed her and Lily by the arm and dragged them out of the common room.

Ron seemed ready to throw a punch at James, but at the same time he seemed to blush immensely when Lily accidentally bumped into Ron's shoulder, exclaiming a quick apology.

As the odd trio whipped out of sight, Harry and Ron shared a mysterious look. They seemed to know what the other was thinking as Harry looked around the room to make sure no one was looking. "Think we should follow them?" Harry asked, pulling a corner of his invisibility cloak out of his bag.

Ron grinned, "Definitely."

OOO

James quickly led the two girls into the back of the library and sat them both down in a chair.

"Honestly, James, what was that all about?" Lily asked.

A small smirk flickered across his face. "First of all, we have some things to settle between you two and Ron," James said.

Hermione did her best to retain her composure as Lily flat out laughed. "What in the world are you talking about?" she asked.

"You do know that liking him could be considered child molesting, not to mention that you're already married to me" James said simply, grinning.

Lily looked at him with an odd look on his face. "Have you gone insane?"

"Maybe, but that's why you love me," he replied, winking and smiling a cheesy smile. "And as for you, Miss Granger, it's obvious that Ron has feelings for you."

Hermione coughed quietly, and in order to change the subject said, "Uh...So, what did you need to talk to us about?"

James swung a chair out from underneath the table and sat on it, deciding to cut straight to the chase and allowing Hermione to escape a drilling about Ron. "Have you ever met Sirius Black?"

There was a moments of silence as Lily looked from James to Hermione, who seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "Well…yes," Hermione answered quietly, biting her lip and hoping she made the right decision in telling the truth.

Lily's eyes widened as she stared at James. It seemed quite obvious that Lily had forgotten that their friends would still be alive in this decade as well.

"How?" Lily demanded.

"I…well…I don't think I should tell you too much, but I'll tell you what I can. After Harry was born, you named Sirius godfather over Harry. We all met him in our third year."

"Third year? If Sirius was Harry's godfather wouldn't he have gotten custody over Harry after we died?" Lily asked curiously.

"That's all I can tell you, sorry," Hermione said, hanging her head slightly.

James nodded understandingly, knowing that the reason Hermione wasn't going to answer was because it would give too much away about Harry. However, hoping for better luck and more answers, James launched into another question.

"Okay, is Harry really meant to be the one to bring down Voldemort?"

Before Lily, James, or Hermione knew what was happening, a blast of red came from nowhere and hit James, who keeled over, unconscious, on the floor. Lily screamed as Hermione jumped in surprise, looking around for the attacker. Materializing out of nowhere appeared a tall lanky red head and a messy black haired teenager; Ron and Harry.

"I knew there was something strange about that guy," Harry said, his wand held aloft as he walked closer to James' stunned figure. He then turned towards Lily and pointed his wand at her chest, as if threatening her.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"You two are so daft! What is your problem?" Hermione exclaimed, marching over to Harry and yanking his wand arm down to the floor.

Harry looked flabbergasted for a moment. "_Our_ problem? These two," he pointed at Lily, who was shaking slightly, to James' motionless body, "are the only ones with issues. Trying to pry their way into information like that."

Hermione glared at the both of them and Lily was surprised when Ron seemed to back up a few paces. "You idiot! They aren't Slytherins or…or…Death Eaters for Merlin's sake!" Her voice seemed to hit a hysteria point.

"Well, then who are they?" Harry retorted.

"They've obviously been trying to get information on Harry," Ron added somewhat reluctantly. He seemed torn between backing up his best friend and saving himself from Hermione's wrath.

Though Hermione was the one who opened her mouth to speak, it wasn't her voice who spoke up first. "I think I should explain this one, Hermione," Lily spoke up. Amazingly, her voice appeared confident and put together, even though she felt like she was going to puke on the inside.

She reached into her robes and with a swish of her wand, James began to stir. He stiffly got to his feet, rubbing his head, and glaring at Harry and Ron. "What in the bloody world was that all about, and where the hell did you get my invisibility cloak?" he exclaimed, looking at the silver cloak clutched under Harry's arm. He could recognize his cloak anywhere.

Harry stared, shifting the silver bundle out of sight. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's definitely not yours."

"It most certainly is," exclaimed James angrily, apparently upset about the earlier attack on him. "I've been using it since my first year ever since my dad gave it to me the Christmas before I started Hogwarts."

Lily cringed and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "I thought you went to Beauxbatons," Ron stated confusedly

"You two better start explaining yourselves," Harry demanded, wiggling his wand up and down for emphasis.

Instinctively, Lily moved closer to James who was seemed confused as to how the conversation was playing out. She looked up at him and nodded. As if a light bulb had just went off inside of his head, James' eyes cleared and he flinched, realizing exactly what they were going to have to explain. They were trapped with no way out; the time had come.

"Well, to start it off, we're not from France," Lily began. Harry snorted as if she had just stated the obvious.

"Yeah, we're actually from here," James added, noticing that Harry's wand was still pointed at the two of them threateningly. "We're just not from this _time_, I guess you could say."

Lily nodded, biting the inside of her cheeks nervously. She breathed in heavily. "Somehow we were thrown twenty years into the future, and—"

"Who are you?" Harry repeated demandingly, observing the two people in front of him. It seemed as if Harry didn't want to bother with long winding explanations; he wanted them to cut straight to the chase.

Receiving a reassuring nod from Lily, James replied, "Our names are James Potter and Lily Evans." To James, that explanation sounded so incredibly dumb and corny, but there was no better way to lay out the truth. He felt Lily wince from beside him.

A thick silence followed this announcement. No one really knew what to say. Harry stood there like he'd just been hit by the force of a speeding truck. Suddenly, and quite out of place for the situation, Harry laughed coldly. "You're joking, right? What kind of sick joke is this?"

James and Lily glanced at each other, both taken aback by their son's response. They hadn't quite prepared for this. Hermione's eyes were beginning to fill with tears as she watched the situation unfold in front of her. Ron merely stood still, his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Nice choice of costumes," Harry continued, his green eyes flashing angrily.

"Harry, it's the truth," Hermione tried to explain, speaking up in order to help the current conversation.

Harry snarled. "What are you going to try to tell me next? That Voldemort's my uncle?"

Before any of the teenagers could respond, a calm voice spoke from behind them. "I think it would be wiser if we continued this in my office. There's a lot of explaining that needs to be done, and I'm sure Madame Pince would appreciate it if we didn't disturb her library."

Harry turned around and found himself face to face with Professor Dumbledore. His normally twinkling blue eyes weren't so joyous anymore; they seemed troubled from behind Dumbledore's half moon spectacles, as if he was hiding some terrible secret. The headmaster turned towards Lily and James and nodded; and that's when the truth hit Harry. This _wasn't_ a joke.

**_OOO_**

_Well, I hope that was worth a two week wait. Please review and feel free to give any constructive criticism! _

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** _Yes. I admit. I am J.K. Rowling. I have decided to take a break from writing book 7 to come onto and write this. Fine. I'm joking. looks around for police and runs._

**A/N:** _Oh my gosh! Thirteen reviews this time around! AH! I'm so happy! You guys rock my socks off! Thanks so much to the following reviewers: PSTurner, emeraldsgem, And So The Wolf Howls, amattsonperdue, Blossom1098, Kurinoone, AnIrishLily, Asteroid225, warm summer days, AlisSilly, Phantom of a Rose, amattsonperdue, and Whitelight72. I love you all!_

And So The Wolf Howls:_ Yes, Harry was quite sarcastic, wasn't he? When I was writing that chapter I actually didn't intend on Harry sounding the way he did, I was trying to write how Harry would have responded (in my opinion) to finding out that these two sixteen year olds (who look nothing like his parents) are claiming to be Lily Evans and James Potter. Hm, well I guess I probably got too carried away because when I re-read the chapter Harry did seem incredibly sarcastic. I guess that's what happens when you eat too much chocolate before sitting down to write a chapter...haha_

ammattsonperdue:_ Hm, I didn't really quite understand your review (then again, it was around midnight when I read it), but I think what you may have noticed was the screwed up timeline I have in this story. I realized that I had gotten all the dates messed up and everything after I had already started posting chapters. For example, the date I have for Harry's sixth year is a couple of years off from the actual date it should be. I'm sorry for any confusion!_

_Anyways, onto this next chapter. Its 1:30am where I am, and I decided "Hm, what a great time to upload the next chapter." So, without any further ramblings from a tired teenage girl, here's chapter 8. Enjoy!_

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 8:**

"This isn't right!"

"Harry, please calm down," Hermione said quietly as she, Ron, Lily, James, and Professor Dumbledore watched Harry pacing frantically in front of the Headmasters desk.

Harry snapped his head around to look at Hermione, his face slightly red. "Calm down? _Calm down?_ You're telling me to calm down when I just found out that my parents came back from the dead. That's not _supposed_ to happen, Hermione!" Harry yelled, his voice rising alarmingly. He glanced quickly at Lily and James and then hastily looked away, resuming his pacing.

"Well, technically," James started, speaking up for the first time since entering the headmaster's office, "we didn't _really_ come back from the dead. It's more like we…time traveled."

Harry snorted, as if trying to say 'like there's a difference', but for some reason Harry seemed to be refusing to look at, let alone talk to, his parents.

"Harry, I think it would be wise of you to listen to what I, and Lily and James, have to say. After all, they've been here for nearly two weeks now and I'm sure they have many questions," Dumbledore stated calmly, his eyes silently following Harry's every move.

This suggestion riled Harry up at once as he rounded on his Headmaster. "Two weeks and you knew all along! Why didn't you inform me, or is this some other silly little thing that would be too fragile for Potter's little ears?" Harry spat, marching up to Dumbledore's desk, his eyes gleaming with rage. He was sick of information being withheld from him, especially when it involved him in a very large way.

Lily's eyes widened at the show of disrespect her son was showing towards his Headmaster, and the politeness Dumbledore was still showing Harry. Attempting to defend her headmaster, she decided to speak what was on her mind. "Honestly, Harry, it wouldn't hurt just to hear our side of the story, would it? Yelling at Professor Dumbledore isn't going to make matters any better for any one of us."

Everyone in the room turned to look at the now-blonde haired girl, except Harry whose back became tense as he continued to breathe deeply. "It's quite alright, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, smiling at Lily. The wizened old man then turned his attention back to Harry, talking firmly, but not raising his voice. "I did not wish to put Lily and James in an uncomfortable situation or put them in harms way, but unfortunately both those things seem to be, regrettably, unavoidable."

The room went eerily quiet at that pronouncement, Dumbledore surveying Lily and James with his bright blue eyes. "Professor, what exactly are you talking about?" Ron asked curiously, shooting a look at James, who was looking at him too; both were recalling the argument they had overheard between Snape and their Headmaster.

"I believe that Mister Potter and Miss Evans are in grave danger," Dumbledore said, readjusting his glasses. Silence filled the room.

Harry turned to look at Ron. "Now it makes sense," Harry said, rubbing his scar subconsciously.

Professor Dumbledore glanced at him, "What do you mean, Harry?"

Harry began pacing the room again, as if it was helping him let out some built up steam. "Ron, Jacob or should I say James, and I accidentally overheard you and Snape discussing something by the forest after Quidditch practice, and Snape had told you—"

"—Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore politely corrected.

"—That Voldemort had gained some important information, and now it all makes sense. I'm not the one in danger, they are," Harry exclaimed, pointing his finger at Lily and James who shared worried looks.

Dumbledore sighed. "Curiosity is not a sin, but you should always use caution when you find yourself faced with it."

Lily looked towards her old professor and gulped, fearing the worst. "What sort of danger, sir?"

That one question seemed to hit Dumbledore hard as he immediately appeared way older than he had ever looked before. He slowly took off his glasses, wiped his eyes tiredly, and then surveyed the group. "As of this moment, Lord Voldemort has been alerted of your return, James and Lily. I'm afraid that if anything shall happen to you it could alter the course of Harry's very being."

Hermione gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes fearful, looking from Harry to Lily and James. Ron looked like he was about puke, his face contorted into a pained expression. The knowledge that the deaths of Harry's teenage parents could wipe out Harry's complete existance was startling, to say the least.

Harry had to contain all of his strength to not reach out and shake Dumbledore forcefully. Here his professor was, once again, totally willing to trust Snape when clear evidence was pointing towards the face that he was no good. "How can you still trust Snape? He's sold my family out before, and now he's done it again. And yet, you still insist on being friendly with him!"

"I will not hear your views on this any longer, Harry. I've been patient enough to answer your questions regarding Professor Snape plenty of times before. My same answer still stands." Dumbledore peered at Harry, his face resolute.

Rage rose up inside of Harry, building all the way from his toes to the top of his head. He couldn't believe Dumbledore. "You're impossible," Harry seethed, his eyes wild. It seemed like his sense of reason had snapped in half. What with the fact that his parents had somehow time travelled and the fact that at any moment Harry could vanish without anyone having any knowledge he had even existed had completely sent Harry's mind spinning.

"Harry, I don't think—" Ron tried to speak uncertainly, watching his best friend closely.

"No," Harry retorted, facing the red headed boy. "You said it yourself," he continued, pointing at his professor, "you said even you make mistakes! How do you know you aren't wrong about Snape?"

"I have nothing more to say on this matter," Dumbledore answered with a ringing note of finality. If the headmaster was getting fed up with the raving raven-haired boy, he didn't show it, but his voice definitely told enough.

Stalking over to the door in four long strides, Harry ripped it open. The group turned to stare at Harry, who was breathing heavily, his face red. "I'm through with this." With one last angry look around the room, the door slammed behind Harry's retreating back.

An absolute silence followed his wake, nobody really knowing what to make of the situation. "Uh…" Ron started, breaking the tension, looking towards a pale-faced Hermione for help. "Maybe we should go…" Ron and Hermione silently got up and when they weren't ushered back by Dumbledore, followed Harry, leaving a nervous Lily and James. No one really knew what to say at first, so they just sat in silence, stunned at everything that had just occurred.

"I suggest you two do everything you can to stay out of harm's way," Dumbledore advised finally, surveying them over the tips of his long fingers.

"Of course, Sir," James said at once, grasping Lily's hand tighter than he probably meant to.

Lily lifted her worried gaze off of the floor and stared into Dumbledore's eyes. "But, Sir, you don't think Voldemort will really come after us and…kill us, do you?" The grip on Lily's hand tightened further, causing her to wince slightly.

Dumbledore put his wand tip to his temple and pulled away a silvery strand which was undoubtedly a memory he wished to cast away into his pensieve. "I think it unwise to underestimate Tom Riddle," he said grimly, swirling the memories inside of his pensieve around in circles.

James shot Lily a look, and the two got up, taking it as their cue to leave. Just as they reached the door, Dumbledore called them back. "Oh, I believe it is alright now if I put you back to your normal selves, and I'm sure you'll be more comfortable that way." Dumbledore raised his wand and twirled it around Lily. Her blonde hair slowly turned back to its normal wavy red and her eyes returned to their deep emerald color. Dumbledore then did the same to James, and the two were back to normal.

"Thank you, Professor," James said, as he grabbed Lily by the arm and turned towards the exit once again.

"One last thing," Dumbledore called out, "let Harry tell you things on his own. It will only anger him if you pester him about his past."

James and Lily nodded understandingly, as they walked out of Dumbledore's office, Fawkes the Phoenix singing a sad melody after them.

"Do you think it was smart for us to go back to normal? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to stay hidden from Death Eaters and such if we still had our disguise?" Lily asked, as soon as they had exited their headmaster's office.

James felt his blood boil at the thought of Snape going off and revealing information to Voldemort, but he answered Lily, trying to keep calm. "If Snape told Voldemort that we're here he would have added that we were under a disguise. We're in no more danger than we were in with the fake looks."

It was quiet for a moment before Lily began shaking her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe Snape became a Death Eater and that Professor Dumbledore allows him here, at Hogwarts, a teacher nonetheless."

James glared off into space. "I _can_ believe it, but it seems to me that Snape is a double agent, working for both sides. More so the dark side, though." James fully agreed with Harry. How could Dumbledore continue to trust Snape when slimy Snivellus had gone and run off to Voldemort, selling out Lily's and James' whereabouts?

OOO

It was nearing dusk by the time Lily and James had returned to the Gryffindor common room. They had decided to allow Harry to be alone for a while in order to get his head around things, but in all honesty Lily and James were the ones who needed to work out their own thought. It seemed as if their whole lives had just been turned upside down in a matter of a few hours. It was hard to believe that two weeks earlier all James had been worrying about was getting Lily to go on a date with him, and now he and Lily had to worry about being murdered by an evil wizard…talk about a drastic change.

"Banshee breath," James muttered to the fat lady's portrait, who swung open, admitting the two of them into the room. With one sweep around the room, James and Lily came to discover that Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't in there, so they made their way over to an empty couch. As they walked towards the fireplace, James noticed a noisy commotion coming from the notice board in the corner of the room. James pushed his way towards the front of the group so he could read what it said as Lily saved him a seat on the couch.

"_Hogsmeade weekend next Saturday. Last time before Christmas holidays_," James read quietly to himself. His heart seemed to jump as he thought about him and Lily walking down the snowy streets of the wizard village together, having nothing to worry about except what to get their friends for Christmas...

"Um, Lily," James started nervously after he approached Lily and sat down beside her.

She immediately turned towards him with troubled eyes. "What?" she asked softly.

"I know this may not be the best timing and all, but, you know, I was just wondering—"

A small smile fought its way across Lily's face, for a second her worries leaving her. She thought she knew what was coming next; after all he'd been asking her the same question since third year. This time, however, she felt a desiring urge to agree to go out with him. Throughout this experience, a new side of James had been revealed and Lily would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. Hesitantly she nodded, answering his un-asked question. "James, I'd like to go to Hogsmeade with you."

James grinned widely in victory as he watched a slight blush creep onto Lily's cheeks. "So, it's a date, Miss Evans."

"I guess it is, Mister Potter." So, maybe this was the wrong time to get excited about a Hogsmeade date, but Lily figured that she had to have something to look forward too instead of dwelling on the fact that Lord Voldemort was out to get them.

OOO

James tiredly made his way up to his dormitory, his heart pumping inside of his chest at the prospect of having to face Harry and Ron for the first time on his own after the meeting in Dumbledore's office. He quietly pushed open the door, incase anyone was sleeping, and hesitantly walked into the room.

All of the lights were extinguished in the room and a faint snoring could be heard coming from the corner where Ron slept. The only light in the room came from a magically lit wand, as its owner was flipping through the pages of a photo album. James stepped closer and his feet made the floorboard creak. Harry immediately looked up and his eyes locked with James'. His eyes widened in shock at finally seeing James, as James and not as Jacob, before quickly shutting the book he had been looking at and shoving it to the edge of his bed; the similarities between them were uncanny

They looked at each other for a moment. "Harry, I—"

"—I'm sorry," Harry said quietly, finally looking away from him.

James peered at his son closely, moving a bit nearer. "What? Why are you sorry?"

Harry didn't answer right away as he stared off into space, his mind somewhere else. Not wanting to push Harry, James quietly began changing into his pajamas. It wasn't until after he had crawled into bed that Harry decided to speak up, his voice laden with emotion

"It's my fault you died."

This _definitely_ wasn't what James had expected. He shot up into a sitting position, staring straight at Harry. "Don't say that. I don't really know what caused our deaths yet, but it most certainly wasn't you," James insisted, desperately wanting Harry to realize that. For a second, his mind flipped to the Auror book that was still hidden underneath his bed.

Harry shook his head, his eyes becoming distant as if there was something else bothering him. James studied Harry harder, trying to figure out what was causing Harry to be so melancholy. A few, silent seconds later, the room was thrown into complete darkness as Harry muttered, "Nox," and his wand tip went out.

James turned over in bed and stared at the wall opposite him, until an idea formed inside of his mind. He quietly slipped his hand under his bed, groping around for the heavy text book. His hand finally came in contact with the leather binding and he pulled it out, dropping it heavily onto his bed. Silently, James closed the hangings that surrounded his bed to insure complete privacy.

"Lumos," he whispered, holding his wand above his head so he could finally continue reading _Famous_ _Aurors Through the Ages_. As his eyes traveled down the chapter labeled 'Potters', James eyes widened as he read about his past, or present, or whatever.

'_The single most intriguing story about Lily and James Potter is their first and only son. To this day, the best witches and wizards have yet to discover how one-year-old Harry James Potter survived the Killing curse and ultimately banished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_The mystery as to why You-Know-Who decided to single out the small family of James Andrew Potter remains unanswered as well. Rumors point in the direction that it was because Lily and James Potter were extremely talented Aurors who were trying to bring You-Know-Who to his downfall. Others think that possibly He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named found the young baby boy as a threat and set out to kill Harry Potter while he was defenseless and powerless. If that be true, however, the question that remains is how a one-year-old could be a threat to the most evil wizard of the century.'_

_**OOO**_

_So, now James has figured out a little bit more about himself..._

_Chapter 9: Chaos and bonding time..._

_Thanks for reading!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:**_ I'm completely out of babysitting money...therefore, I can assure you I am not a famous author._

**A/N:** _You all have no idea how much I love getting your reviews! Thanks to the following reviewers: Livondaedge, betherny, Lils, Hikari Annie, warm summer days, Reader4ever, And So The Wolf Howls, AnIrishLily, Phantom of a Rose, Blossom1098, emeraldsgem, PSTurner, greeny-fob, Lukesweetheart, and Kurinoone._

_In response to livondaedge: No, Ginny and Harry are not dating...yet. You'll just have to wait and see for that one._

_Kurinoone: Actually, if Harry did reveal everything that had happened to Lily and James (for example, Peter betraying them) it actually wouldn't do any good. In chapter 2, Dumbledore explains that when Lily and James do return to their own time they will not be able to remember anything. Thus, James would continue being friends with Peter and would change his secret keeper from Sirius to Peter anyway. Sad, I know._

_So, here's chapter 9! Let me know what you think!_

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 9:**

Lily raked her brain for a good enough excuse as Lavender and Parvati threw questions at her as to why she suddenly had red hair and green eyes. She had completely, and foolishly, forgot that other people were bound to wonder how her appearance had changed overnight. Surely she couldn't tell the truth and tell them she was actually Harry's sixteen year old mum. No, that would be a complete catastrophe. _What had Dumbledore been thinking?_

"I mean, the blond was so gorgeous…not saying that your hair isn't pretty now," Parvati quickly amended, opening up the heavy curtains to allow the December morning sun in.

"Yeah, it totally suits you," Lavender added, "but why'd you change it?" she asked again, awaiting the answer.

Lily rubbed her eyes tiredly, glancing at the two girls. "I…uh…well, to be honest…" She looked around to Hermione, who was leaning up against her bed frame; she shrugged as if saying _I don't know; you're on your own._ It was way too early in the morning to handle this kind of pressure. "I…I went into Hogsmeade yesterday, uh…without permission, and I got it dyed. I like to change it up every now and then. And I picked up these lovely green colored contacts on the way." Lily smiled victoriously at her quick thinking, even though the excuse was a pretty lame one to come up with.

"Yeah," Hermione added. "Too bad I caught her and gave her a detention for being outside of the Hogwarts' grounds." She looked over at Lily and shrugged; _might as well make it more believable._

Lavender and Parvati nodded, buying the charade, and they headed down the stairs to breakfast before their Monday morning classes would begin. Lily sighed in relief, thankful that the two girls appeared to have no common sense.

"Nice story, Lily," Hermione said, grinning.

Lily didn't respond, her mind immediately jumping back to the topic which had kept her awake all night.

OOO

"Blimey, I still can't believe how much you look like Harry," Seamus Finnigan exclaimed, grabbing some toast and taking a bite.

James shrugged, glancing quickly at Harry. "Yeah, everybody always confuses us with being twins rather than just being cousins," he stated. He could have sworn he saw Harry crack a grin, before he resumed talking to Ron, pretending like he hadn't overheard.

"But still, why didn't you just tell us you were related to him in the first place?"

"Yeah, and why did you create a false look?" Dean Thomas added.

James groaned inwardly; _would these questions ever end?_ "Well, with Harry being famous and all," he looked at Harry again who was listening intently, an amused look on his face, "I just thought I might as well start with a clean slate, you know?" He winked at Harry. "Aw, Lily, Hermione, so nice of you to join us!"

Lily's eyes widened in horror as she glanced around the Gryffindor table. James didn't know what she seemed so nervous about until he caught his blunder. "_Oh, Merlin_," James muttered to himself.

Harry and Ron were looking in between their school mates back to a nervous looking Lily to an equally nervous looking James. "Uh…" Harry said, clearly trying to come up with an excuse. Luckily, it appeared that no one at the Gryffindor table had caught the mistake as hundreds of owls began swooping into the Great Hall to deliver their morning post.

James breathed out a sigh of relief, mentally slapping himself for his idiotic mistake. "Oh Godric, I'm so sorry," he said as Lily took a seat beside him. She looked a little worried, but the immediate affect had worn off.

"Just don't do it again. It nearly gave me a heart attack," she said

"Well, that wouldn't have been good. It's a nice thing these birds showed up when they did, otherwise—"

"So it's true then. It's like a Potter family reunion over here," drawled a cold, slick voice from behind them.

James and Lily whipped around and came face to face with a blond greasy haired boy wearing Slytherin robs. This guy didn't look all that tough, especially since behind him stood two of the biggest and bulkiest characters James had ever seen. But his face was long with sharp features, and the look upon his face was menacingly taunting.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

Harry was now standing up and moving along the bench to get nearer to his parents and Draco, pulling out his wand from his cloak as he moved. The Gryffindor table had become unusually quiet. The other house tables seemed to be catching on that something was happening, and they ceased their talking as well to hear what was going on. Hogwarts really was too nosey for its own good.

"Aw, look Crabbe, Goyle. Little Potter has gotten his mummy and daddy back," Malfoy mocked as his two cronies laughed stupidly in the background.

Hushed whispers began ringing throughout the hall as the students discussed the latest piece of news. "But you said—that's not possible," Seamus stated, looking at Lily, to James, and finally to Harry waiting for clarification. James stomach dropped, but he ignored it for all he cared about doing was hexing this kid into next Thursday.

James and Harry jabbed their wands threateningly at Malfoy while Lily's face lost all of its color in a matter of seconds. She hastily look around the hall, wondering why the teachers hadn't intervened yet.

Malfoy, however, seemed unfazed by two wands being pointed at him as he continued on with his taunting. "Tell me, how did it feel to get blasted into smithereens by the Dark Lord. Oh wait, that's right, you haven't experienced that yet. Some future; such a pity."

James growled angrily and raised his wand, but before he had even muttered the incantation Malfoy had been blasted off of his feet and sent flying through the air, only to smack into the far wall and land unconscious on the floor.

Lily looked on the verge of tears as she gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She looked up at the staff table again and saw McGonagall tearing towards them, her lips pursed and eyes blazing. Everybody in the hall began talking amongst themselves again not wanting to suffer their professor's wrath.

"Mister Potter," she said, stopping in front of Harry, James, and Lily, her hands on her hips.

"Yes?" Both Harry and James asked. Harry's wand arm was shaking in rage.

McGonagall looked in between the two, and her eyes oddly softened. "Dueling is never the answer," she began, staring at Harry. "I'm afraid you'll have to serve a detention tomorrow night."

Harry nodded before marching out of the dining area. He stopped to glare at the unconscious form of Malfoy that was now being attended to by Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. "What did you do to him?" Pansy cried, rubbing her hand through his blond hair.

"He deserved it," Harry spat, his anger reaching its boiling point. He had to get out of here, otherwise he knew he'd explode and then he would be serving detentions until June.

Goyle smirked. "Why don't you just go cry to your mummy about it." Crabbe guffawed like an idiot in the background.

Ignoring the comment by collecting every bit of self-control he possessed, Harry stormed out and away from all of the whisperings about him.

James and Lily watched him go, not really sure of what to do. "I trust you to go see that Harry is alright, Miss Evans and Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall stated. Ron and Hermione rose as well, wanting to help their friend too. "Miss Granger, Mister Weasley may go as well, however I expect you all back in classes by tomorrow morning." The four nodded as she stared at Lily and James incredulously, before she shook her head and turned on her heel, walking back to her seat and wiping away her tears.

"This is my fault," James said sullenly, as the four of them made their way up to the Gryffindor common room, where they hoped to find Harry.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"It's just bloody Malfoy sticking his pointy nose in places it doesn't belong," Ron threw in.

"No, if I hadn't called out Lily's name this morning, none of this would have happened."

"Yes it would have," Hermione said forcefully. "Remember what Dumbledore said? V-Voldemort knows you're here now. Malfoy's family is right up in his immediate circle."

"Yeah," Ron added, cringing, "I bet you anything Malfoy's dad 'slipped' the secret to Malfoy just to make Harry's life miserable."

"But still—"

A warm hand touched his shoulder tenderly. "James," Lily said, "it wasn't anyone's fault. What happened, happened and now we have to deal with the consequences." With the reassuring pressure of Lily's hand on his shoulder, James oddly calmed and remained silent as they walked.

After Ron muttered the password, the group wandered into the empty Gryffindor common room and made their way over to the boys' staircase. "Harry?" Hermione called out softly as she opened the door and they made their way inside the dorm.

Harry was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling distractedly. He didn't respond right away to the four people now standing by his bed.

"Harry, James and I would just like to…" Lily let her words trail away. She and James would just like to…what exactly? Apologize even though they all knew it wasn't their fault?

Harry continued to sit and glare at the ceiling as if it had personally insulted him. Why did it always have to be him? Ever since his birth, he had been singled out, but _this_…this was just too much. In a way, Harry felt slightly ashamed of the way he had treated his parents after finding out that Lisa Carlyle and Jacob Gates weren't real people, but what did they expect? They were supposed to be _dead_.

Hermione walked over to the side of his bed and sat down beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked, knowing that something else was bothering him besides the whole Malfoy fiasco. Having known him ever since they had been eleven, Hermione could easily read Harry like an open book at times.

Harry's eyes drifted towards Lily and James and then back to Hermione. "I'm fine."

A look of disbelief filtered across her face as she stared straight at him, attempting to break through this wall he had managed to seclude his emotions behind. "Harry, you really aren't—"

"—I'm fine, just drop it, alright Hermione?" Harry snapped, resuming his incessant glaring at the white plaster surface above his head.

Silence settled amongst them, the sound of Harry's heavy breathing slicing through the tension. James peered closely at his son as he searched his mind for something that could potentially cheer up the teenager. And then the idea hit him and he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Quidditch. James hadn't spent much time with Harry, but he knew that the boy absolutely loved the Wizarding sport, as did James. If a good old game of Quidditch couldn't cheer Harry up, James didn't know what would. "Hey, Harry," James said suddenly, his eyes bright with excitement. He hoped his idea would work. "McGonagall gave us the day off. How about some Quidditch?"

Lily and Hermione looked at James like he had just suggested that they all go jump off the Astronomy tower for fun. To the girls, it was totally unsympathetic to go and offer to play some dumb sport while Harry was clearly having an emotional breakdown.

Hesitantly, Harry surveyed his father, fighting an internal battle. Stay brooding in his dark dormitory and risk being questioned about his feelings by Hermione, or go flying on his broomstick? Honestly, why was he even sitting here still thinking about it? To the girls' extreme surprise, Harry slowly nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah, okay. Maybe I'll see Malfoy and I'll be able to chuck a Quaffle at his head."

Lily and Hermione's jaw literally dropped two feet, but at least, they had to admit, that the suggestion had gotten Harry's spirits up slightly. "Great, get your broom and let's go. Coming Ron?" James asked, turning towards the red-head.

"Of course," Ron answered excitedly, already slinging his broom over his right shoulder and shoving his keeper gloves on his hands.

"See you later then, girls," James called behind him, as he led the way out of the dorm with Harry and Ron following behind them.

OOO

Harry couldn't help but grin as the three of them made their way to the Quidditch pitch. Something seemed to hit him hard as the three guys walked across the silent grounds, the rest of school locked up in the castle doing studies; here was his chance to finally get to know his dad which he had fantasized about ever since he was little, and now here he was, about to play his favorite sport in the world with his best friend and his father. As odd at the situation was, Harry couldn't let this chance pass by.

James unlocked the chest which held the four balls of Quidditch and grabbed the big red one out of it. "Alright, Ron, you be in goal since you're keeper. Harry and I can fight for the Quaffle and score on you," James explained, hopping onto his broom and kicking off into the air. Ron soon joined him, and sped off down the field to take position at the goal posts.

Not wanting to be the only one left still on the ground, Harry kicked off. The cold air whipped through his hair as he accelerated higher and higher before doing a spectacular dive back down. All of his problems seemed to disappear as he pulled out of the dive and stopped perfectly beside his dad.

"Show off," muttered James.

Harry grinned, realizing that he could grab the Quaffle from James. In one swift motion he had taken a hand off of his broom and retrieved the ball out from underneath James' arm.

"Oy! No fair! I wasn't ready! Foul!" James protested loudly, as Harry raced away towards Ron's end of the field. James watched as Harry threw the ball straight towards the right hoop. Ron dove to the right, but the Quaffle grazed the tips of his fingers and flew into the goal.

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed as Ron went to retrieve the ball from the ground.

"That doesn't count! I said foul!" James joked, flying towards Harry.

"No need to worry. Seeing as you are a chaser, you should have no problem catching up," Harry retorted, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

"But technically, this match isn't fair! It's not my fault I'm stuck with this lazy old twig while you're on the firebolt."

"Stop your bickering, mates. I can't hang around these hoops all day," Ron grinned, throwing the Quaffle at James who caught it.

Hours later, after Ron complained that his stomach was growling so loud people in Bulgaria could hear it, Harry, James, and Ron retreated back to the ground and dismounted their brooms.

"Well gents," Ron started rather smugly, "I do believe I won. I saved more goals than you two made put together," he laughed, running a hand through his red hair, making it stand up on end.

"Weasley you are _my_ king," Harry stated, smirking at his friend, who shoved him forcefully.

"Yeah, and now your majesty would appreciate it if you lot would walk faster so he could get some food," Ron retorted as his stomach made a very loud noise comparable to a lion's roar.

All three of them laughed and headed back towards the castle, Harry thinking that this is what life should have been like as he shouldered his Firebolt and walked back towards the castle.

OOO

"Hey, Lily, I need to talk to you," called out James as he and the two guys strolled into the common room, faces flushed with the coldness from the air outside, their hair swept back by the wind. Entering the warm, cozy room was greatly welcoming.

"I'll talk to you later, Hermione," Lily muttered as she stood up and strode towards James, smiling briefly at Harry.

James grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the staircases which led up to the boys' dormitory as Ron and Harry sat beside Hermione in the common room.

"The boys' dorm? James, I am not going up there."

James rolled his eyes, continuing to pull her up the stairs, but Lily seemed to have dug her heels into the ground and was refusing to be moved. "You didn't seem to mind earlier today," he retorted.

"Well, yeah, that's because it wasn't with just you."

A small knowing grin washed across his handsome features. "Don't you trust me, Lils?"

She looked at him, her eyes shifting around the noisy room where the Gryffindor students were all playing games or doing their homework. There was no potential harm in the situation; the only harm being the rumors that could easily spread throughout school if someone got the wrong idea. "What will everyone say when they see Harry's parents making their way up to a dormitory unaccompanied?"

James laughed, and tugged on her arm. She obliged as she allowed herself to be pulled up the stairs. "Don't worry about them, there's something important you have to read.

Once inside of the dorm, James released Lily and strode over to his bed, pulling out a leather book from underneath his bed. He ushered Lily over who hesitantly sat beside him. She looked down at the book. "Oh, I almost forgot about this," she whispered, trailing her fingers over the title of the book.

She watched as James flipped open to a marked page and pointed to a paragraph half way down the page. "I found out what happened to us. Here, read it."

James waited anxiously but patiently as Lily read it, her eyes becoming glossy with tears towards the end. She looked up at James, closing the book. "Why?"

He looked at her and shrugged, understanding what her question had meant. It was the same question that was bugging him. _Why had Voldemort attacked them?_

Suddenly, something ran across his mind; the newspaper clipping he had read about, the one that was talking about Harry and the prophecy and how Scrimgeour wanted to meet with him…

"I don't think Voldemort came after us that night we…died," James said slowly, looking at Lily.

Her eyes widened as she recalled the information James had shared to her about the article earlier that week. She put a hand to her mouth, her heart beating wildly. "Harry," she muttered.

James nodded. "I bet you anything the prophecy is true, and somehow Voldemort found out about it and went to kill Harry as a baby before he went to school and strengthened his magical skills."

Small tears began falling from Lily's eyes, but she hastily wiped them away, angry at her own weak emotions. "What do we do?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Nothing. Dumbledore told us not to pester him. I believe Harry will tell us when he wants to. He clearly inherited his mother's temper."

Lily let out a chocked laugh, and she couldn't help but realize the change this experience had seem to have on James Potter, her sworn enemy, the one she said she would always hate. Her stomach took part in a small gymnastics routine as she observed James silently, thinking about the next Hogsmeade trip; when she had agreed to the 'date', Lily had thought that she had decided to do it because she figured she had nothing to lose. But no, she had been fooling herself; it had finally happened, and the realization didn't scare her as much as she thought it would. Lily Evans had fallen for James Potter.

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 10:** _Hogsmeade...I would hate to give too much away...hehe_

_Thanks for reading everyone! You all are FANTASTIC!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** _If I were J.K. Rowling I'd be able to afford that shirt I wanted in the mall...lol_

**A/N:** _WOO! All of you rock: killing u with umbrellas, Lukesweetheart, And So The Wolf Howls, Lils, AnIrishLily, Phantom of a Rose, Hikari Annie, simply infatuated, PSTurner, darkmarkgirl, Darkmoon Fleur, NazgulGirl, and kurinoone! I can't even express how much I thank you!_

_So, school started on Tuesday for me, and I'm already missing summer after four days of being back at school. All I have to say is thank goodness it's the weekend! Surprisingly, my favorite class this year is AP English; I just love that class! Chemistry is horrible though! I can already tell I am going to hate it with a passion; science is not one of the things I enjoy..._

_Anyways, enough about my boring school life. Here's chapter 10._

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 10:**

"Hey, look, there they are."

"I heard You-Know-Who brought them back to life."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. I heard they're Death Eaters in disguise."

Continuous whispers followed James and Lily around school for the rest of the week. Each day, the rumors of their return would get even more and more outrageous until finally a second year Ravenclaw went into hysterics as he exclaimed that the world was ending and everyone was going to die. After the boy had spent four days under the care of Madame Pomfrey—and under the influence of a powerful calming draught—Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the staff had done their best to halt the rumors, but to no prevail.

Harry wasn't having an easy time with it either. It seemed like wherever he went, Slytherins were sure to follow with snide remarks and comments about him finally having a family. It was a pure miracle that Malfoy was still alive, in James' opinion.

At long last, the day of the Hogsmeade trip arrived, and Lily couldn't have been happier to escape the castle, and its curious students, and get out for some fresh air.

"So, you're going with James then?" Hermione asked, smiling in a way that caused heat to rise up into Lily's face.

"Well, it's not like a…you know…I mean…yeah," Lily gave in, pulling out some tennis shoes and tying them onto her feet. She grabbed her winter coat and gloves from off the heater as she looked outside the window. A heavy snowfall had occurred over night and had covered the ground with a good few inches of snow.

Hermione wrapped her scarf around her neck, still grinning. "I suggest we head down then. I would hate to keep our dates waiting." _Date._ Lily gulped as her heart beat began to race enormously, as if she had just finished running a marathon.

Trying to appear calm and collected, Lily asked, "Date? Who are you going with?"

"Just Harry and Ron as always," Hermione answered, turning to open the door from their dorm.

Lily nodded distractedly, looking herself over in the mirror once more. She hoped she didn't look like it had taken her too long to get ready. Truth be told, it had taken nearly an hour and a half for her to find a suitable outfit to wear and another forty-five minutes to curl her hair into loose ringlets. _Pull yourself together, Evans_, Lily thought to herself, swinging her purse over her shoulder, _It's only James Potter_. Her stomach immediately began doing summersaults and she began regretting ever agreeing to this date.

Finally, after many pushes and shoves from Hermione, the two girls emerged into the Great Hall where they were immediately flagged down by three guys. Hermione smiled and waved back, grabbing Lily by the hand and pulling her through the crowd of students.

"Lily, you look great as always," James said smoothly, looking her up and down. He smiled when her eye caught his.

_Why, why, why did I agree to this? _

Because you like him.

Who says?

You.

Oh, shove it.

Lily could sense James looking at her nervously as she fought with the voices inside of her head. She looked up at him and locked eyes with his, her nervousness immediately evaporating. Almost as if she were in a trance, she smiled. "Hey, James. Shall we get going?" _Why was he suddenly having this effect on her?_

James grinned, offering her his arm, which she took after a second's hesitation. "See you guys later," he called happily over his shoulder to Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

Harry watched them leave, a small grin plastered on his face. "Well, it's good to know she didn't completely hate him," he said quietly, speaking to himself. It was reassuring to know that after that scene Harry had witnessed in his parents' fifth year that somehow James had gotten onto good terms with Lily.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a quick look. "What?" Ron asked bluntly, staring at his friend.

Harry shook his head, turning to face his two best friends. "Oh, nothing. Let's go."

OOO

It took a while for Lily to ease up. As they had walked along the road leading to Hogsmeade, things were a quite awkward between the two of them. But by the time they passed through the gate which signaled the end of Hogwarts' grounds, Lily had opened up and the two had talked freely.

"I always think Hogsmeade looks like a postcard," Lily stated, spinning around in a complete 360 in order to view the snow-covered roofs of small cottages and stores and the cheery smoke rising steadily from chimneys.

James watched her, his eyes twinkling happily. He couldn't believe he was here, with Lily, on a date. Sirius owed him five galleons. "So, where do you want to go, Lilykins?"

Lily wrinkled her nose in distaste, clearly not finding the nick-name at all fanciable. "Lilykins? You sound like Sirius."

James grinned, remembering how his best mate had adopted that nickname for her back in their fourth year, mostly to annoy her. And annoyed her it had; in fact James could clearly remember the slightly disturbing sight of Sirius after she had dealt with him on an occasion. "I'll take that as a compliment," he replied cheekily.

Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed his upper arm, dragging him off in the direction of Honeydukes. Minutes later, their money bags considerably lighter than they had been at the start, and each with a bag of candy in their hands, Lily and James walked out of the warm candy shop and headed down the street packed with Hogwarts students.

"You know," James began, glancing at her, "once upon a time you would never have been seen with me in Hogsmeade."

Lily smiled, her cheeks turning a warm shade of pink. "Yeah, well, things are different now." She said coyly, shrugging.

James smirked. "Like twenty years later different?"

Lily laughed and continued walking, but James had suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, staring at her. Realizing the absence of his presence by her side, Lily spun around confusedly. "Lily," he started, seeing the curious expression on her face, "if we had never come here, to this time, would you be on this date with me now in 1980?"

Lily shifted her feet uncomfortably, staring off into the distance as James scrutinized her. "If your head had been deflated like it has now, then yes," she answered smartly.

A small grin spread across his face as he reached out and grabbed her hand, satisfied with her answer. Lily would never change…"Come on, let's head over to the Three Broomsticks. I know of two Butterbeers with our names on them."

"Well, if it isn't James' Potter!" the pretty-faced bartender exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her face. Lily vaguely recognized her as the same woman who ran the Three Broomsticks back in 1980.

"Hey Rose," James greeted, approaching the bar, and pointedly ignoring the perplexed stares of the other customers. "I'd like two Butterbeers, if you'd be so kind." He grinned and she consented, pulling out two tankards of the warm, tasty beverage.

"Don't be silly," she said, as James pulled out some silver coins from his pocket, "these are on the house. I've missed you coming in here all the time. It's good to see you again."

James smiled, shaking his head. "And of course, it's great to see you, but I'm paying." He counted out a galleon and seven sickles and handed them over, before Lily slapped down her own money. James looked at her questioningly.

"I can buy my own, it's alright."

"Lily, don't be silly, the drinks are on me," James replied, pushing his money back towards the bartender, Madame Rosmerta, and scooping up Lily's coins and handing them back to her.

"Honestly, James, just let me pay," Lily fought, reaching out and taking his coins back off of the counter and replacing them with her own.

Madame Rosmerta watched amusedly, as the couple in front of her continued to fight over who would pay for what.

"Lily, I'm paying and that's final."

"You're going to make me mad."

"I can deal with that." In one swift motion he had grabbed Lily, pinning her arms to her side. He put his money into Rosmerta's hands, winked, and then walked away with Lily and the drinks in his arms.

Lily sat down at the table and pretended to glare at James, refusing to touch her Butterbeer that he placed in front of her. James grinned. "You know, you could say thank you."

Unable to contain it, Lily laughed, breaking the charade. "Thanks, James. But I do believe we held the line up." She motioned over to where a long line of customers were waiting to be served.

James shrugged, taking a sip of his drink, warmth immediately stretching all the way to his fingertips. Over the top of his glass, he chanced a look at Lily. Her bright greens eyes surveyed the small bar, a contented smile formed on her lips. She sighed happily and she looked over to James, who immediately dropped his gaze.

"So, how'd you get so friendly with Madame Rosmerta?" Lily asked, her eyes shining.

James grinned, remembering all the times him and Sirius would sneak out under the invisibility cloak to Hogsmeade in order to get beverages and other certain items for after-match parties and such. "Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I give her a lot of business," he replied cryptically.

Lily laughed. "I don't think I even _want_ to know."

"You're probably—"

A large echoing crash from a couple stores down the street caused James to break off as he looked quickly to his left. The force of the crash sent ripples of shock waves along the street and into the Three Broomsticks, making the glasses rattle uncomfortably on the tables. Lily peered out the window to see what had happened. It sounded as if a bomb had just detonated.

"What in the name of Godric Gryffindor…" James said. "I hope whatever fell didn't hurt anyone that was in that store."

"Maybe we should go check."

"I'm sure everything's fine. It was probably only a shelf."

"Yeah, a very _large _shelf," commented Lily, biting her lip but assuring herself everything was fine.

James looked out into the street for a couple of minutes, and then he shook his head. "I'm sure the customers in there will help with everything." As he spoke, a strange feeling erupted inside of his stomach. It was a sense of worry, a sense of foreboding as if his body was warning him that something was about to happen. "Lily…" he said, barely moving his lips, "something isn't right."

"I know, but as you said, the people in the store are bound to help with whatever—"

"—No, Lily," James interrupted hastily, standing up and scanning his eyes around his surroundings. The feeling inside of him moved from his stomach to his chest where it exploded, putting him onto a full alert. "We need to get out of here."

Lily's eyes clouded with worry and confusion as she looked into James' hazel eyes. His body stood rigid. Many of the students at the surrounding tables were giving James odd looks as they tried to eat their meals in peace, completely disregarding whatever had just happened.

"What is it?" Lily asked quietly. He didn't respond right away. She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. "James?"

He finally looked at her, but before he could respond, a window from the store directly across the street exploded, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. The confused people and students out on the street all screamed with surprise, jumping out of the way of the glass now raining down upon them.

_BOOM_

The door from the same shop got blasted off its hinges, landing on top of a, thankfully empty, horse-drawn carriage. The scene outside turned into total chaos as Hogwarts' students and parents with small kids began fleeing from the scene, fear gripping each person as they pushed their way about trying to escape.

Lily held James' shoulder as everyone in the pub looked out with a mixture of surprise and fear on the commotion now occurring out in the streets. No one was ignoring the situation any longer.

"What's going on?" A middle-aged man exclaimed, standing from his table where his wife sat. With three long strides he approached the window to inspect the events that had happened outside. He pressed his hands against the pane, attempting to get a better view.

Before anyone could react, the window exploded with a sickening screech. The lights extinguished and The Three Broomsticks was sent into complete darkness. The store immediately filled with screams as everyone scrambled to their feet. James grabbed Lily around the waist and pulled her down towards the ground as large pieces of glass flew into the building from the smashed window.

Lily screamed as they hit the floor, covering her head with her hands as sharp pieces of glass cut into her skin. "What is happening?" she cried desperately, coughing as dust streamed into her mouth.

As soon as the dirt and glass settled onto the floor, James jumped up, pulling Lily with him. Together they whipped out their wands and surveyed the area. Tables and chairs were overturned as people dazedly stood up, some running to get out of the building. The pretty bartender hesitantly stuck her head out from behind the bar and wove her wand, restoring some of the light. "What in the world is happening?" she exclaimed wildly.

James' eyes shifted towards the empty hole in the wall where the window once stood. The window frame had been blasted out too, littering the ground with bits of wood. His heart dropped when he saw a woman kneeling beside the mess, tears running down her face; sticking out from underneath the pile of rubbish was a hand.

He felt Lily shivering next to him as he put his hand reassuringly in hers. "Stay here," he said. "I'm going to go see what happened."

Lily's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? I'm coming with you."

"Lily, no—"

"Don't try it. I'm coming."

James stared at her for a while seeing the determination hidden behind her eyes. Deciding he wanted her by her side anyways in order to protect her himself, he slowly nodded. With one last determined look from Lily, he held his wand out in front of him and exited the pub with Lily behind him.

The scene outside was like a nightmare. It seemed as if an alarm had gone off, signaling an evacuation of the whole town. People ran from every direction; out of shops and out of houses. Debris covered the cobbled stone streets and James' noticed that the sun seemed to have disappeared, causing blackness to fall onto everything. _What had happened?_

He took hold of Lily's hand and began pulling her through the masses of hectic people. Screams were beginning to fill throughout the town, wide-spread panic along with it. It was now becoming obvious that whatever had happened back at the Three Broomsticks was happening all around town. The bubbling feeling in James' gut returned. His pace increased.

"James! Lily!"

James spun around, tightening his grip on Lily's hand. They both looked in the direction they had heard the voice and saw a bushy haired girl running towards them. Hermione. A large cut had formed itself on the top of her forehead, drops of blood dripping from the wound.

She gasped, hands on her knees as she stopped in front of them. "Thank Merlin I found you. You need to get out of here!" she cried, struggling with maintaining a steady breathing rate.

James and Lily looked at her in alarm. "What?"

"Harry…sent me to warn you…it's a trap! They came to find you!"

The poor girl seemed delirious, her wand arm shaking uncontrollably, but her voice came out steady and strong. An explosion sounded to their left as a small town-house erupted into flames.

"Who? Who's looking for us?" James bellowed over the ever increasing noise of the town.

A jet of red light shot from across the street, hitting an old woman in the chest. She keeled over and fell to the ground, her face pale and unmoving.

Hermione's eyes darted around the street, her voice reaching a note of forcefulness in order for the words to have the right impact. "Death Eaters! They're here and they want you! You both must leave _now_!"

_**OOO**_

_Tehehe...sorry to cut it off at such a...dramatic...time. Thanks for reading!_

_Until next time!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **_You know, this is getting quite tiresome to have to repeat myself. Yada, yada, yada, I'm not J.K. Rowling, blah, blah, blah._

**A/N:** _YOU ALL ARE SO AMAZING! Thanks you so much! Lils (No, chemistry isn't horrible, it's just I really don't like science so that makes it about ten times worse...honors chem, eh? Well, good luck to you! lol), killing u with umbrellas, Phantom of a Rose, AnIrishLily, simply infatuated, darkmarkgirl, PSTurner, NazgulGirl, Blossom1098, And So The Wolf Howls, kurinoone, Moonstone, lane, and warm summer days_

_Hm, well i'm quite scared to post this chapter, because since most of you hated me for leaving it at a cliffie in the last chapter, the end of this chapter certainly will get you worked up again. Runs and hides in a secret hideout _

_So, here's chapter 11! It's actually my longest chapter so far! How exciting! I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and one more thing before I set you loose to read; the reason I've been updating so fast is because I actually have up to chapter 12 already written. I started this story last April actually. After chapter 12, it may take a bit longer for me to update, not extremely long just longer. Anyways, I'll stop rambling! Have fun reading!_

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 11:**

James immediately jumped into action, as if he had been prepared for this specific event all of his life. "Lily, I need you to get back to Hogwarts."

Lily stared aghast, her mouth hanging open. "I am not leaving."

Glancing around the street, he continued to issue directions ignoring Lily's refusal to get back to the school. "Get to Hogwarts and get Dumbledore. If Death Eaters are here we need help and fast. Go to Honeydukes, and down in the cellar you'll find a trap door. Follow the passage all the way to Hogwarts, it will be safer."

For a second, it seemed like Lily was about to retort, but then her eyes held a determined glint and she nodded. "Where are you going to be?"

James glanced at Hermione. "I'm going with Hermione to help Harry."

"No! Don't you understand? They're going to kill you, and then Harry will be beyond the need of help," Hermione cried, desperately trying to will James to see the danger in this situation.

A door of a house up the street was thrown out of its frame in a flurry of bright yellow sparks. At least a dozen men in black cloaks and masks ran out from it. The Death Eaters appeared to pay no attention to the frightened people on the street. These men were on a mission and they were searching for two people and two people only. They looked around quickly until a tall bulky figure pointed. James' heart dropped as the finger was pointing straight towards them.

"I am not leaving my son to duel by himself. There's not anymore time to argue my decision Hermione," he said firmly. "Lily, go now and quickly. Stay safe." He held eye contact with her, willing himself that she would be alright. She nodded and immediately took off towards the road that led to the small candy shop.

He watched her go before turning back to face Hermione. "Lead the way back to Harry," he ordered, igniting his wand tip so he could see better. He watched her carefully as she bit her lip. Against her better judgment, she nodded and began running off with James following.

James looked over his shoulder, back to where the Death Eaters had appeared, and his heart beat rose enormously; their pursuers were hot on their heels. At least he seemed to be drawing them away from Lily.

Another look behind him showed that the group of cloaked figures was gaining now and nearly in range to shoot a well-aimed spell. Thinking quickly, James grabbed Hermione around the arm. "Be quiet," he warned her and he suddenly threw himself around a corner where a little ally was situated in between two buildings. Hermione looked at him with large, fearful eyes as the sounds of the Death Eater's boots could be heard approaching.

"Where are they?" demanded a deep, rumbling voice that sounded like a roll of thunder. There was silence as the group stopped and looked about them.

James head began pounding; he could feel Hermione breathing heavily as she leaned back into the wall beside him. The forms of the men could now be seen from their hiding place; James gripped his wand, preparing himself for a duel if they found him.

"Search the area," barked a harsh voice, "they can't have gone far."

Hermione held her breath as they saw the group disperse in an attempt to find them. "Listen, Hermione," whispered James quietly, keeping his eyes on the Death Eaters. "Right when they find us, we're trapped. It's better to catch them off guard than to try to run by them. As soon as they find us begin fighting—" but James didn't have time to finish as two figures, one small one tall, began walking straight for their little ally.

Thinking with all of his might, James' thought, '_Stupefy'. _A flash of red light flew from his wand and quietly hit the small one, who crumpled unconscious into a heap on the ground. The small one's partner looked down at his fallen comrade confusedly before looking back into the dark ally where James and Hermione stood.

Right as the Death Eater went to open his mouth to call out he had found them, Hermione muttered a spell under her breath, her wand pointing at the tall Death Eater. He clutched his throat frantically as no sound came out. James quickly finished the job with a quiet, "Petrificus Totalus," and they guy fell over as stiff as a bored.

"Two down, about eight more to go," stated James quietly. "Now is the time to make a run for it." Grabbing Hermione by the wrist again, he shot out of the ally, jumping over the bodies of the fallen Death Eaters, and made to run down the street, only to find he couldn't. Their way out was completely blocked; he had run him and Hermione straight into a circle of Death Eaters, all of who appeared to be waiting for them. Hermione rose her wand defensively from beside him.

"You thought you could hide yourselves from us?" laughed a Death Eater from the group.

James grimaced, his skin crawling from the sound of the man's voice. It seemed oddly familiar. "Malfoy?" he finally asked repulsively.

The man in the center of the group lowered his mask to reveal the pointed face and long blonde hair of Lucius Malfoy. "So nice to see you, Potter," he greeted, sneering.

"I can't say I'm happy to see you, Malfoy," replied James coldly, his wand held up in front of him. He quickly calculated the situation; one wizard, one witch, and eight fully trained followers of Voldemort. Ouch.

Hermione spoke up from beside James, her voice steady. "How did you get out of Azkaban? Last time I checked Harry had made sure a cell was empty for you."

A flash of rage crossed Lucius' face, before he laughed maliciously, controlling his anger. "You forgot one thing, Mudblood. The dementors were once faithful followers of our Lord." He grinned which only made his face appear darker. "Now, where is your dear Mudblood, Potter? The Dark Lord wishes to see you two personally."

OOO

Lily barged into Honeydukes, fortunately having met no resistance on her way. It appeared like that Death Eaters had already rampaged through the sweet shop. Shelves swung from their broken nails, buckets of candy seemed like they had exploded, and the shop was eerily quiet and empty.

The door that led down to the cellar was already open, and she hastily threw herself down the stairs and frantically began looking for the trap door. To her surprise, she found it quickly, wrenching it open and dropping herself down into the dark, damp tunnel.

"Lumos," she muttered and her wand tip burst into light, allowing her to see a couple of feet in front of her.

She shivered as the soft pattering of water could be heard dropping from the tunnel's ceiling onto the floor. Every running footstep she made bounced off the walls and echoed around her, making the hair on the back of neck prickle unpleasantly.

As she rounded a corner at top speed, she wasn't prepared for the surprise that met her. Her voice stuck in her throat.

"Miss Evans. We've been waiting for you."

OOO

"So, what makes you think I'll come with you guys? I have better things to do with my time then take part in a meeting with Voldemort," James said boldly. He felt Hermione cringe from beside him as a ripple of anger shot through the circle of Death Eaters.

"Do not speak the Dark Lord's name with your unworthy lips," spat a woman's voice.

James immediately recognized that voice. It belonged to the voice of one of Sirius' cousins, a woman with long black hair and heavily lidded eyes. "What, afraid to speak your master's own name, Bella?" taunted James.

"Aw, little Potter remembers me, how sweet," Bellatrix Black mocked. "Too bad my dear cousin won't be able to take part in this little family reunion.

"Shut up," seethed Hermione, taking a threatening step towards the tall woman. James noticed Hermione's face was etched with loathing and anger as her back tensed and her wand arm poised into position.

"Is the Mudblood missing _darling_ Sirius?" Bella asked, adopting a sickening baby voice. She smirked.

James head spun with confusion. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Hermione raised her wand, her mouth thin, her eyes flashing angrily. "Say another word and I'll make sure you never speak again."

Bella smirked as if she were amused. "You really are quite a nuisance, Mudblood. Rottura disossare," she hissed; her wand came down in a short swish and a jet of dark blue light aimed for Hermione's chest.

"Protego," Hermione retorted. The small shield stopped the effect of the curse, but the force of it hitting the shield knocked Hermione off her feet.

The circle of Death Eaters seemed to be closing in on them ever so slightly. James and Hermione scanned the area, attempting to find an escape route, or something that could potentially help them. Right as James went to raise his wand, five different things happened so fast that nobody really saw anything except the flashes of spells.

"Stupefy!" Bella was thrown off her feet and landed unconsciously.

"Locomotor mortis!"

"Avada Kedavra!" A man to Bella's right dropped lifelessly, a Death Eater's misjudged Killing curse hitting him in the gut.

"Protego!"

"Crucio!" James impulsively levitated a piece of rubble off of the street and flew it into the path of the spell; the stone smashed into pieces as the force of the unforgivable curse struck.

Harry entered the arena, approaching from behind, his eyes blazing angrily and his arm raised and dangerous. Ron, Neville Longbottom, and girl with long dirty-blonde hair and enormous blue eyes were each battling a Death Eater of their choice. So that explained the sudden hexes.

James immediately tackled Bellatrix, who had been revived, their wands clashing together in a shower of sparks. Harry immediately jumped into the fray as the Death Eaters got their wits back together after the surprising turn of events.

A resounding crack rang throughout the air, as a new arrival showed up. Albus Dumbledore arrived in a swish of a cloak, his eyes burning as he locked eyes with the Death Eaters. Fear caught in their eyes as they scrambled over each other, trying to get away from the powerful frightening headmaster in front of them.

With a swish of his wand, two men were pulled backwards and they slumped to the ground, unconscious. Ropes then sprang from Dumbledore's wand, catching the ankles of three more escaping Death Eaters. Dumbledore appeared to perform the tasks effortlessly. Two others Disapparated out of the Headmaster's reach.

The only three people who weren't aware of the old man's presence were Harry, James, and Bellatrix Lestrange. Still locked in a deadly duel, Bella cackled as she easily side-stepped Harry's jinx and quickly conjured a curse of her own, which James blocked with a shield charm.

Quite suddenly, her eyes locked on Dumbledore's. With one last look at him, Bella gripped her wand and brought it down in a slashing movement. "Crucio!" she cried loudly. James watched helplessly as the spell hit Harry square in the chest. Harry dropped to the ground, his lips clenched shut tightly as he withered in pain.

Bellatrix smirked. "You can't keep running away forever, dear Potters," she mocked. There will be a day when your old, blind Professor will no longer be able to protect you," And with that eerie announcement, Bellatrix quickly disappeared with a soft 'pop'.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, striding over to the boy who sat up abruptly, Black's spell being lifted. He wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead. "Are you alright?" their headmaster asked sternly.

"She got away! You just let her get away?" Harry asked angrily, staring around wildly as if hoping to find the dark woman. Hermione flung herself down beside him to ensure his well-being. "I'm fine, Hermione," he grumbled irritably, pushing himself up off of the ground. Ron, Neville, and Luna Lovegood ambled over to the site, each looking beat up and a little bit worse for wear.

"Where's Lily?" James demanded, jumping to the next problem after being assured Harry was alright. "She's safe right?"

Dumbledore quickly shifted his gaze from Harry to James. "What?" he asked sternly, staring intently at the young man.

"Lily was supposed to—oh no." James' eyes widened as if he had just seen something utterly terrifying.

"James, what are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked firmly yet again.

"S-She never made it back to the castle?" Hermione asked weakly as James put his head in his hands.

Swiftly and without a response, Dumbledore pulled a coin out of his robes and pointed his wand at it. The coin glowed blue for a second before going back to its normal silver color. "You five, take this portkey and go back to Hogwarts. It will activate in a minute. Do not attempt to stay here to look for Miss Evans, I do not want any of you in anymore danger. I can assure you the Death Eaters have not gone for good. I will meet you in my office with Lily." He gave Harry the coin, before striding off quickly through town, without any further explanation.

Harry rounded on Hermione. "I told you to tell them to go back to Hogwarts," he said angrily, punching his fist in his hand.

James sighed. "Lily was supposed to go. I wasn't going to leave you here."

"I can handle myself. You two were supposed to stay safe!" Harry fought.

A calm, serene voice broke through the fighting. "Excuse me, but the portkey is about to activate." Luna was standing there, quite at ease, surveying everything. There was a hectic scrambling as the five teenagers gathered around the coin in Harry's hand.

A thousand thoughts seemed to be running throughout James' mind as the coin began tingling slightly. _Where was Lily? _Making up his mind at the very last second, James withdrew his hand from the portkey and watched as the others disappeared from view. He was startled to see Harry standing there as well; they stared at each other briefly.

"It seems like we had the same idea," James muttered, staring at Harry, who grunted.

"I wasn't about to leave my mum."

"Neither was I," countered James. A prickling feeling erupted on the back of his neck as if they were being watched. James whipped his head around and something heavy collided with the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. He fought to stay conscious as stars erupted around his head. The last thing he was aware of was that someone had grabbed him around the arm roughly and then he passed out in a swirl of darkness.

OOO

_He was having a very strange dream. Everything was covered in thick white fog as he picked his way through it, trying to find something in the midst of nothing. "James." Someone was calling his name, but there was no one around. "James." There was the voice again, but who was it coming from? Right as the fog began to clear a sharp pain shot through his head as if someone had just struck him with a hammer._

James struggled to open a very heavy eyelid. His whole body ached and he vaguely noticed that he was freezing cold. Collecting all of his strength, he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that it was fairly dark in the room; the only source of light came from a conjured lit torch hanging from a grimy wall. "Oh, Merlin, James," Lily cried, flinging herself at him. He winced as she helped him sit up, rubbing the back of his head which was damp with blood. "Are you alright?" His eyes blurred slightly as he tried to focus on Lily, her image going in and out of focus. _Why couldn't he remember anything?_

He breathed deeply. "That depends on your definition of 'alright'," he muttered thickly. His vision finally cleared as Harry came into view, his outline pacing the floor. A large gash on his cheek had spattered his robes with blood.

"What happened?" asked James confusedly.

"Those bloody cowards snuck up on you and hit you on a head with a plank of wood; you passed out," Harry explained. "I tried to fight them off, but..." he let his words drop, shrugging disappointedly.

James blinked; so that explained the pain in his head. He looked around his surroundings. An underground tunnel spread out to either side of them, roots crawling along the walls. A set of rugged made steps led upwards; the place looked strangely familiar, but in his dazed state, he couldn't put his finger on it. Finally it clicked. "We're under the Shrieking Shack aren't we?" he asked.

Lily nodded, her eyes wide and fearful. "The tunnel from Honeydukes was a trap," she explained, staring at James. "I'm sorry that I never made it back to the castle."

Everything came flying back to James. The attack on Hogsmeade, the exploding buildings, the Death Eaters, and Lily disappearing. He suddenly reached out a pulled Lily towards him, hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Harry looked in between his parents rather uncomfortably. "Safe isn't exactly what I had in mind…"

James looked over Lily's shoulder at Harry. "What do you mean?"

"We've been brought here as special guests to Voldemort," Harry said, his tone dark.

James swore and immediately jumped up, which made his head spin violently. He groped around inside of his pockets for his wand, but couldn't find it.

"They've taken our wands too."

James swore again, making his way towards the stairs which led up to the shrieking shack. "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you," warned Harry.

As James reached the stairs he was thrown backwards by an invisible force. It knocked him clear off his feet and sent him sprawling into the wall. His headache returned again.

"The Death Eaters have put invisible barriers up so we can't escape," Lily explained, her voice quivering.

"I thought no one knew of this tunnel except me and the Marauders," said James, rubbing his aching head forcefully.

Harry laughed bluntly. "Well, and me," he added, "I've explored the Marauder's Map quite thoroughly."

They all fell silent as the sound of heavy footsteps began approaching towards them. The three quickly readied themselves as the short, plump figure of a man approached them along with the form of Lucius Malfoy.

James stared at the other figure incredulously for a clear second before realizing he actually recognized the person. "Peter?" he croaked, peering closely at the man with watery blue eyes and black robes to match Lucius'. The man's eyes seemed to widen slightly. James' heart jumped into his throat as he stared at the adult looking version of Peter Pettigrew, one of his best mates.

"Yes, your old school friend has indeed been helpful towards our cause for years now," drawled Lucius, sneering. "How do you think we found this place? And right under the nose of Dumbledore too. Wormtail let slip the position of this nifty tunnel here as well as the tunnel that leads from Hogwarts to Honeydukes. Quite ingenious how the 'four Marauders' found out about all of Hogwarts' secrets only for them to be revealed to us."

James sat there, shocked. His heart was beating like a drum on steroids inside of his chest. _Peter, one of his best friends, one of the Marauders, he wouldn't—couldn't—believe it._ "You're lying!" he said loudly, staring at Peter as if willing his friend to confirm that he'd just been kidnapped like the rest of them had.

Peter looked down at his feet, shuffling nervously, not daring to share eye contact with anyone in the room. When he didn't answer, James' worst fears were confirmed.

"Peter?" Lily asked, observing the man. The top of his hair was balding, almost as if he had pulled it out himself and his eyes had a permanent watery look about them, as if he were constantly on the verge of tears. A flash of silver stood out in the dark atmosphere; Lily gasped and stared curiously at one of Peter's hands, which appeared to be made out of silver.

Peter winced slightly before he began rambling. "T-The Dark Lord would like you to know how p-pleased he is that you made it here—"

Harry snorted irritably, angry that he was unable to do anything to defend himself. "As if we had a choice, Wormtail." He said, glaring.

"—and he sends you his greetings."

Lily held James back as he made a move to go and tackle Peter. "I trusted you!" he shouted, his voice echoing. "I trusted you and you betrayed me! No, you didn't just betray me; you betrayed the _Marauders_."

A microscopic frown flickered across Peter's face. "The D-Dark Lord sought me out. He knew I wasn't useless and that I had a way to gain people's trust. He needed my help and offered to hand me power," he broke off, glancing quickly at James who was still being restrained by Lily.

Obnoxious tutting noises issued from Lucius Malfoy's mouth, as if he were trying to show some sympathy for the current situation. "You really ought to choose your friends more wisely, Potter. Well, do have a good time while you are here," replied Lucius, taking over the situation as James began muttering a string of violent curse words directed at Peter. "I'm sure these moments will be your last. Pettigrew, let's go." The two walked away, leaving a ringing silence in their wake.

James dropped down onto the ground tiredly when Lily finally released him; he rubbed a hand through his hair. "Bloody hell," he muttered. Lily knelt down beside him, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder. "_Bloody hell_."

"I'm sorry, James," she said quietly, her eyes boring into his own.

Harry sat motionless, staring at where Peter had stood. "If I had had by wand…" he muttered darkly, imitating a wand movement with his arm.

"How did you know who he was?" James asked, turning to look at Harry.

Harry was silent for a long time, glaring off into space. James glanced wearily at Lily, who had taken his hand and was holding it. "Your death was as much his fault as much as it was mine," Harry finally muttered, before looking away.

"He—Peter _killed _me?" James asked, flabbergasted.

Harry looked at him and sighed. "I—" he sighed again at the look of betrayal on his father's face. "It all started sixteen years ago," Harry began. And he launched into the story of what had happened on that faithful Halloween night. It seemed as if he had been holding this in for a while now and the dam had finally let loose. After explaining about how he had been given to the Dursley's and then how he had gotten to Hogwarts, he stopped; he told a short version of how Voldemort had rose back to power during his fourth year, but everything else was left out.

Lily and James sat, stunned. "I'm going to kill Petunia when I see her next," Lily muttered, her fists clenched tightly together; Unexpectedly, she pulled Harry into a quick hug; Harry smiled weakly.

"I thought Sirius was your godfather," James recalled. Something had happened to Sirius, something bad if Bellatrix Lestrange had talked about it with such glee in her voice.

A look of pain shot across Harry's face as he lowered his eyes to the floor. "Who told you that?"

Before James could answer, another round of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, but these appeared to be softer, as if the person didn't want to be detected by anyone else.

The light from the torch revealed the man's hooded face. "Get away from me, Snivellus," James growled, as Severus Snape approached quickly, drawing off his hood and mask. In his hands he held three wands.

"As much as I would like to, Potter, I have business here," Snape answered. It seemed the reason why Snape was here talking to them hadn't been his own decision but someone else's. "Now listen up because I'm not going to repeat anything."

"Why should I—"

"You never were one to follow commands, Potter. I thought I told you to listen," Snape sneered, glaring at James. He looked around at the three Potters, waiting for any further interruptions. When none came, he continued. "There won't be much time before the Dark Lord is aware of my absence as well as yours." He revealed the three wands in his hands and threw each one back to its respected owners. "I'm going to lift these barriers. When I do they will only be deactivated for a few minutes so you'll have to get through them quickly. You may meet some resistance on the way, but at least you're armed now."

James fingered his wand and then pointed it at Snape, his eyes narrowed. "Why should I believe you? You're a filthy Death Eater." he exclaimed, extreme hatred apparent in his voice.

"It's either you trust me, Potter, or you sit here and wait for Voldemort. Take your pick," Snape answered. Snape then turned towards Harry, "and besides, Potter junior here can explain reasons why you should trust me while you go. Now go before I change my mind."

He waved his wand around the room and the barriers that had been placed around them could be seen momentarily before they disappeared again. James took this as a sign that they had been deactivated so he quickly stood up. He grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her to her feet hastily as Harry took the lead and led them out.

"Stupefy." The trio looked around in alarm and found Severus unconscious on the tunnel floor; he had stupefied himself. James shot one last look at his old arch nemesis and he realized that they both had the same enemy now.

"Come on," he demanded, deciding, grudgingly, to take Snape's advice and get out of there.

"Snape is a member of the Order of the Phoenix…_Lumos_," Harry explained as the three of them ran down the narrow tunnel, trying to find the path that led up underneath the Whomping Willow, their escape route.

"What's that?" Lily panted, holding her wand out in front of her. In other circumstances, Lily would have been attempting to investigate the tunnel and would wonder how Harry and James knew where and what it was. But, with the fact that Voldemort at any moment could catch up with them, Lily concentrated on the task at hand.

"A defense group," answered James, recalling the information he had heard his dad and mum discussing. "Dumbledore is head of it and it's a group dedicated to bringing down Voldemort. Why does Snape belong to it?"

"He's a spy. Voldemort _thinks_ Snape is loyal to him; Dumbledore _knows_ Snape is loyal to the Order. It all gets rather confusing," Harry answered, as he jumped over a root so he wouldn't trip. "Wands out!" Harry yelled, jumping out of the way as a stream of red light sped in their direction. James pushed Lily out of the way and the spell hit the wall of the tunnel.

"Stupefy!" James and Harry both yelled at the same time. The sound of something very heavy falling to the ground announced that their spell had found its mark.

A second Death Eater announced his presence as another spell whizzed over their heads and crashed into the side of the tunnel. Without warning, a deep rumbling, as if it were coming from within the very heart of the tunnel, began filling the passageway as the ground started vibrating.

"Ouch," Lily exclaimed suddenly, rubbing the top of her head. "Something hard just hit my head."

"Uh oh," James muttered, looking up. The tunnel began shaking as clumps of dirt and pieces of rock began falling from the roof of the tunnel. "This can't be good."

With a large crunching sound, a large crack wove its way across the ceiling, making intricate patterns into the dirt and stone walls. An abrupt bang thundered around the tunnel, the sound reverberating off the walls. And then there was silence as the fires of hell broke loose.

"Watch out!" Harry called out. The three of them threw themselves onto the ground, worries of Death Eaters being thrown out of their mind, as the roof of the tunnel began to cave in on top of them.

Lily waved her wand and conjured up a shield surrounding the three of them. Large pieces of rock narrowly avoided their heads as the pieces fell and cracked onto the ground, bouncing over and off the glowing shield.

As quickly as it started, it stopped, and all was calm. The three of them hesitantly stood up and surveyed the area. A wall of dirt, pebbles, and boulders blocked the way they had just come.

"Well," stated James. "That should stop anyone from coming after us."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But not from coming towards us." A small group of Death Eaters had approached to see what was happening, and consequently had found the teenagers. The two different sides simply stood and stared at each other, Lily, James, and Harry realizing they were trapped.

"Did you really think I was going to let you escape that easily?"

A tall figure emerged from behind the group of Death Eaters, who all parted to make a path for him. A long slender lit wand was held in between the man's thin, bony fingers. His face held the look of a man who had once been very handsome, but evil had torn away at it.

The light that glowed from his wand reflected in his blood red eyes, staring upon the sight heartlessly as he surveyed them, a thin ghostly smile spreading across his dry lips.

The voice chilled James to the bone and he heard Lily gasp from beside him. He clutched his wand tightly as if his life depended on it, which he realized it probably did.

Lord Voldemort had found them, and they had no way out.

_**OOO**_

_Well, I hoped you enjoyed that. Now it's time for me to go run and hide in some faraway country no one has ever heard of. _

_Until next time!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** _I wish._

**A/N:**_ Okay. So I know I've said this a million times before, but I must say it again. YOU GUYS TOTALLY ROCK! Thanks to: Hikari Annie, aragog, Tortall gal, Phantom of a Rose, killing u with umbrellas, Kait-Lynn23, And So The Wolf Howls, darkmarkgirl, SyicoChica, Lils, NazgulGirl, Kurinoone, shloki, AnIrishLily, warm summer days, and raymond. Hehe, a little over a hundred reviews...yay! That's exciting! Thanks guys!_

_Raymond: Oh dear, I did say Lily had green eyes and red hair in chapter 6...my bad! Gosh, I guess I'm so used to Lily as she normally is that I just over-looked that when I proof-read that chapter! Sorry about that!_

_So, after another hard, boring week of school I finally have time to update the next chapter! Woohoo. And I promise that my cliffies are taking a break, so you won't see one for a while at least! lol!_

_I hope you enjoy chapter 12!_

_**OOO**_

**Chapter 12:**

Voldemort fixed his greedy red eyes upon Harry, twirling his wand casually in between his fingers. "Quite an impressive escape attempt. Snape will surely be punished for his foolishness," he said. "But I'm sorry to say I expected more from 'the Chosen One'. Running cowardly away without a fight…that's not like you, Harry."

Harry stared straight back at the deformed man, no trace of fear evident on his face. "You're the only coward here," he retorted, "At least I don't need a group of followers to back me up."

A flash of some undistinguishable emotion flashed through Voldemort's eyes, deepening their red shade. However, as quickly as it had come, the moment passed and Voldemort was calm and collected again. "Clever, Harry, but you also have faced me many times with back up; that Diggory boy, your Mudblood and blood-traitor, your godfather." It was clear that Voldemort was attempting to anger Harry in order to put him off edge. Harry glared and his wand arm began to shake with the pressure from trying to keep control of his emotions.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the three Death Eaters jaunting laughs, as Voldemort surveyed Harry amusingly, almost as if he found the situation enjoyable. His gaze finally landed on James and Lily, and his mouth formed into a taunt jeer. "And now look who you've brought into the fray."

Lily twitched involuntarily. Frankly, James could aim a spell at Voldemort now while he was still in possession of his wand. However, he felt as if that's what Voldemort was waiting for, waiting for them to make the first move. _Never make the first move in a duel,_ James' dad had always told him. "Actually," James began, deciding that maybe if they could keep Voldemort talking, help would come, "I believe it was your brainless henchmen that brought us here to this _thrilling_ atmosphere."

"You filthy Mudblood lover," sneered a confident voice, "You wish to continue speaking to the Dark Lord in that way?" Bellatrix was back and she whipped out her wand quickly in a complete fit of rage.

The three teenagers retaliated and raised their own wands, reacting to the threatening manner of the woman Death Eater. "At least we're brave enough to say his actual name," chimed in Lily bravely. James couldn't help but admire the way Lily was handling the current situation.

"_Cruci—_"

"Furnunculus," James cried, attempting to cut Bellatrix's spell off so that it wouldn't hit its victim, Lily.

Bellatrix shrieked as large ugly boils erupted all over her face and began spreading down to the rest of her body. She groped at her face, as if trying to wipe off the effect of the spell.

"Frantumare," Harry bellowed, finishing off Bellatrix as she was lifted up into the air and smashed into the opposite wall of the dark tunnel, where she lay knocked out. Voldemort simply stood there, watching the scene in front of him unfold. It was clear that Voldemort cared nothing for his loyal followers, his so called 'friends'. But no, Voldemort never did, and never would, count anyone of his Death Eaters as a true friend.

"Stupefy!" Lily shouted at the same time that James yelled, "Immobulus." The Death Eater turned and deflected James' spell, but Lily's came soon after, catching the man in the back. However, there was no time to celebrate in their victory—

"Expelliarumus."

James, Lily, and Harry watched, caught off guard, as their wands rose into the air and shot into Voldemort's awaiting arms. "You three really are a nuisance," he said calmly, rolling the three confiscated wands around in the palm of his bony hand, "it really is easier with you two gone," he grinned eerily at Lily and James.

"Well, all the more reason to come back then," James retorted, his eyes trying to get used to the darkness; without their wands, the only light emanated from Voldemort's.

Voldemort's eyes shone wildly, a sneer crossing across his ghost-like features. "No worries," he held out his wand menacingly, "now I have the chance to get rid of all three of you, together."

It seemed as if time had slowed down as Voldemort began swinging his arm down, his mouth forming incomprehensible words. James could hardly hear what he was saying, his mind locking, but he knew what was coming. "_Avada—_"

Clearing his mind, James hastily cast around for something in the tunnel that could help them, save them. Nothing. Blasted tunnel. He ran through all of his memories as quick as possible, trying to locate something that would offer advice on how to survive a Killing Curse being shot at you by an evil snake wannabe.

"_Keda_—"

With less than a split second to act, James jumped into action, thinking of the first thing that came to his mind. It all happened so fast, that even Voldemort was caught unaware as a brilliantly white stag charged at him. The magnificent animal's antlers caught Voldemort in the stomach heavily, causing him to double over in pain. A blast of deathly green light shot out of the tip of Voldemort's wand, but with the force of the stag's impact, the spell missed its mark, hitting the pile of rubble made by the earlier cave in. Sparks and sharp fragments of broken rock exploded at the Unforgivable Curse's collision.

Without wasting time, the stag then attacked Voldemort's left arm and their three wands dropped from his hand and rolled across the tunnel floor as James' Animagus form bit down on Voldemort's wrist.

Harry and Lily dove for them as James continued to distract the remaining Death Eater and Voldemort. Lily grabbed hers and James' and spun around, watching as the stag ran in circles around Voldemort, who at this point seemed enraged beyond reason. James' erratic plan of action gave the up-hand the trio needed, for they were no longer defenseless and had thrown Voldemort and the Death Eater into a pure scene of chaos.

"Inconscio," Lily exclaimed, waving her wand about her and aiming a spell at the tall Death Eater, who had been preparing to aim a spell at the stag as it continued to try to throw Voldemort off balance. To Lily's surprise, the Death Eater responded quickly, his reflexives reacting skillfully.

The Death Eater sneered unpleasantly, flicking her spell away with his wand as easily as if he were shooing away a bothersome fly. "The little girl wants to play," he wheezed, grinning, revealing his yellow stained teeth. "Falsmorte."

"Protego," Lily responded, conjuring a glowing blue shield out of nowhere. The spell didn't harm her, but caused her to lose her balance and stumble into the wall. In that one precious moment, the Death Eater acted.

"Crucio!"

Pain hit Lily, pain she had never felt in her life, before she could even register what had happened. She vaguely felt herself fall to the ground and she heard herself screaming as if from far away. A thousand scorching knives were being stabbed into every inch of her skin, setting her whole body on fire. She begged for it to stop, she needed it to stop or she would surely die from the agony.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried, catching the jeering Death Eater from behind. As he fell unconscious, the Unforgivable curse lifted, and Lily laid panting and aching on the ground. She hastily wiped her eyes and clutched her wand in her right hand. She locked eyes with the stag and she knew James was trying to make sure she was alright. With a slight nod, she shakily got to her feet, feeling nauseous.

In that split second of time it had taken James to reassure himself that Lily was alright, Voldemort had been handed his chance. Illuminating the tunnel abruptly, a flash of light like lightening bolted through the air and hit the stag across its chest. The stag's beautiful eyes widened as the spell hit its target and then it fell, slowly, to the ground.

Lily's heart beat rose enormously as she stared, horrified, at the spot where James' laid, unmoving, transformed back into his human form. He couldn't be dead. With a jolt in her brain, she could see the moving of his chest; up and down, up and down. And yet, it seemed as if his breaths were coming shallowly and unsteadily.

"Ah, quite ingenious. Seems as if _noble_ James Potter is an unregistered Animagus," Voldemort stated. Before Lily or Harry could defend themselves, Voldemort flicked his wand again, procuring thick ropes out of nowhere. Almost as if an invisible force was moving them, Lily and Harry were pushed roughly back into the wall where the ropes bound them there.

Voldemort approached them slowly, never letting his eyes leave theirs. Lily's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the manic gleam in those red eyes. His thin lips upturned into a wild leer as he casually stepped over Bellatrix's unconscious body.

And at that moment, Lily knew she was going to die. She and Harry were alone, completely at Voldemort's feet right where he wanted them. A large lump rose up into her throat, cutting off her air pipe. Her parents would never be able to see her off to school again, her friends would be left to wonder what had happened to her, she would never get the chance to finish her schooling or admit to James that she had started falling for him... With a pang to her heart, Lily realized that her son, Harry, would cease to exist, nobody ever having a memory of him. She could feel the tears build up behind her eyes, but she would not let Voldemort see them; she had to be strong.

"You're pathetic," she hissed coldly, fighting against the giant golf ball in her throat. From further down the exit of the tunnel, voices could be heard. Disgusted at the idea, Lily assumed that more Death Eaters were probably coming to watch the murder of the Potters.

"Pathetic, Mudblood? Is that really the best you could do? Those are the last words you wish to leave behind?" Voldemort asked, smirking.

Harry struggled angrily against his bindings as he glared upon the man in front of him; the man responsible for ruining his life and hunting after him for the past five years. Voices were becoming louder, more panicked, from down the tunnel. "You may kill me, but do you actually think that you'll fulfill the prophecy by doing so? Others are out there that want you dead as well. You rely too much on the prophecy, Tom."

Voldemort grinned, not his usual sneer, but a genuine grin as if he were truly happy. This frightened Lily all the more, for it made his face look darker, and if it were possible, more inhuman. "After I kill you, Harry Potter, I will be more powerful than ever before. No one will ever again be able to challenge me."

Lily mustered up all of her courage. If she was going down, she may as well be bold. "I highly doubt that."

With a roar of defiance, Voldemort raised his wand high up into the air. "I'll leave you with the comforting thought that I will next kill the stag. Goodbye, Harry Potter."

An echoing crash sounded from down the tunnel, and suddenly Voldemort was thrown clear off of his feet. Lily and Harry watched, confusedly, as Voldemort jumped up and spun around facing the tunnel exit. "Albus," he hissed and his wand arm twitched slightly.

_Dumbledore?_ Lily's head became light headed as her heart seemed to pump wildly inside of her chest. Was it possible the headmaster had found them?

"Good evening, Tom," came the calm voice of Albus Dumbledore. He emerged into the scene, his wand held in front of him, with Hermione and Ron in tow. Their headmaster surveyed the scene, his light blue eyes trailing over the fallen bodies of the Death Eaters, to James' still form, to Harry and Lily tied to the wall, and finally landing on Voldemort himself. "You surely didn't expect that your poorly made defenses would stop me from entering, did you?" he asked, circling the Dark Lord.

Voldemort's eyes darkened. "I had been hoping on it, but no matter." Voldemort jabbed his wand, aiming a spell wordlessly at Dumbledore, who easily conjured up a shield. The spell rebounded on its caster, but Voldemort merely side stepped it, the spell crashing into the wall.

Hermione and Ron ran over towards Lily and Harry, dodging spells that were being fired between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Hermione whipped out her wand, pointing it at the ropes that bound the two. "Diffindo," she said, and the bindings broke, releasing Harry and Lily.

"Blimey," Ron stated, looking pale. "Are you guys okay?"

Harry nodded, gripping his wand tightly, his face resolute. "Come on, we have to help." He tried to make his way further down the tunnel to reach where Dumbledore and Voldemort were dueling, but wasn't able to. An invisible barrier had been placed around them, no doubt Dumbledore had put it there in order to stop them from doing something stupid. "He's blocked us!" Harry watched, the only thing he could do, horrified at what would happen now.

"Members from the Order of the Phoenix should be arriving shortly, Tom," Dumbledore stated politely, as if he had invited Voldemort over for a cup of tea.

As if on cue, pairs of hurrying feet could be heard making their way rather quickly down the tunnel towards them. "This way," shouted a muffled voice.

Voldemort looked around quickly, his mouth twisted in rage. He pointed his wand towards the ceiling, muttered a spell, and with a swish of his cloak he vanished. As soon as he left, however, the ceiling began to cave in, creating a second barrier of stone and mud. It had been Voldemort's last lousy attempt to kill one of them.

Dumbledore strode over to them, his face grim. "Is everything alright?"

Harry nodded quietly, thinking about how close he, and his mother and father, had been to death. He nodded again. "Yeah…he got James with a spell though," Harry answered, looking over at the unconscious form of his sixteen year old dad.

Dumbledore bent over James, running his wand over the length of James' body. After several tense, quiet seconds, the professor straightened up again.

"Is he going to be okay, sir?" Lily asked hesitantly, gazing down at James' face. Her mind was still trying to process all of what had happened.

"He is alive. He'll need to see Madame Pomfrey." Everyone seemed to breathe more freely after this pronouncement.

A voice from the other side of the rock barrier startled them all. "The way's blocked," came a recognizable voice, a woman's. Tonks.

"Is there another way in?" spoke a deep man's voice.

"Kingsley," called out Dumbledore, stepping closer to the cave in. "We're alright."

From the other side of the wall, there were sighs of immediate relief, and then Alastor Moody's voice spoke through. "What about the Potters and Evans?"

"Everyone's fine, Alastor. Bit late to show up, weren't you?" Dumbledore answered, his voice set in a teasing manner.

Moody grumbled in response annoyingly. "Would've been here faster if it weren't for this blasted wooden leg."

There was silence as the two different groups stood on their respected sides of the rubble wall, "I would stand back if I were you," Dumbledore finally said, calculating the barrier in front of him. He waved his wand and the barrier formed by the collapse of the ceiling was blasted apart, creating an opening just large enough for them to escape through.

"Where is he, Albus?" Elphias Doge asked, as the Order members stepped through the opening.

Dumbledore conjured a stretcher for James, lying him down on it. "It appears that Tom Riddle didn't fancy having a meeting with all of us," he responded, levitating the stretcher.

Tonks emerged, her hair light brown today and her eyes a deep blue color. She looked down at James. "What happened to him?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing Madame Pomfrey can't fix. Now, excuse me for a moment while I send these students back to my office." Dumbledore pulled out the same coin he had used earlier for a Portkey and handed it to Lily. "This will take you back to my office. Wait for me there. I expect all of you," he broke off, staring pointedly at Harry, "to be there when I return. I will take Mister Potter to the Hospital Wing."

OOO

It was slightly surreal to be standing in Dumbledore's office where all was calm and the only sound that could be heard was coming from the headmaster's many trinkets and magical objects, when just a couple minutes ago they had been face-to-face with Voldemort about to meet death. Lily looked around at the other three, her sudden urge of adrenaline from the fight slowly returning back to a normal level. She had a questions; a _thousand_ questions, but the after affect of what she had just been through seemed to be clamping her mouth shut.

The four teenagers jumped as the silence was broken by the heavy office door swinging open. Dumbledore strolled in, his purple robes bellowing out behind him as he sat down behind his desk and surveyed the group from behind his spectacles. "Oh, how rude of me," he exclaimed suddenly, and with a swish of his wand four squishy chairs transfigured out of thin air, which Lily, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all took a seat in. "I must impress upon you the seriousness of the damage you and James could have gotten yourself, and others, into Harry," Dumbledore began calmly. "I thought I told you I would go find Miss Evans—"

"Well, judging by the time it took you to find us she wouldn't be here now if James and I weren't there," Harry retorted angrily. He seemed to be channeling all of his worry and problems into the form of anger which was, unfortunately, directed at Professor Dumbledore.

"Which is why I must thank you for your bravery." Harry's mouth opened to retort in order to defend his and James' actions, but at hearing his headmaster's pronouncement, shut it quickly, looking slightly taken aback. "Also, without the help of Miss Granger's and Mr. Weasley's quick thinking, I fear I might have been too late."

Lily and Harry turned to face Hermione and Ron, each a bit pink in the face at the compliment. "As soon as we noticed you and James must have let go of the portkey, we knew we had to find you," Ron explained.

Hermione nodded. "Ron and I ran to get the Marauder's Map, hoping that maybe it had been an accident that you two dropped contact with the portkey. We thought maybe you were trying to return back into Hogwarts' grounds and we'd be able to locate you on the map. Luna and Neville had no idea where we had gone because we lost them in the crowd of students gathering in the entrance hall."

"How did you find us though? We were way deep into the tunnel; I thought the map didn't show that far?" Harry asked, awaiting for the answer. Lily simply sat, listening, her voice still failing her.

"It doesn't show that far," Ron said, "but it _does_ show the Whomping Willow and the beginning of the tunnel. We saw Crabbe's and Goyle's fathers standing in the mouth of the opening."

"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley found me immediately and the tunnel led us straight towards you," Dumbledore finished, observing them all again. "Now, I believe I'm going to have to cancel any further Hogsmeade trips after this. I daresay more parents are going to want their children home after tonight. All of you, including James as well, are going to spend Christmas at the Burrow with the rest of the Order."

Harry nodded and looked around. He hated to admit it, but if it weren't for Snape they would have had no chance of coming out of that secret tunnel alive. "What about Snape?" he asked suddenly, staring at Dumbledore who rubbed his temples wearingly.

"Professor Snape is an accomplished Occlumens. Luckily, Voldemort knows nothing of how he handed you your wands. However, he is surely being punished for allowing three sixteen year olds get the better of him."

Lily grimaced only half-heartedly as she was still absorbing all of the information she had just learned. Apparently, she was going to spend Christmas at someplace called the Burrow, of which she had no idea what that was, and had almost just been wiped out of existence. It was safe to say that the future definitely held dangerous surprises.

"Now, before Madame Pomfrey has me decapitated for keeping her patients from her too long, I suggest you four head down to the hospital wing," Dumbledore proposed, casting yet another troubling memory into the mass of swirling white threads in the small stone basin in front of him.

Lily gulped, glancing up at her professor. The thought had only just occurred to her that they hadn't been the only ones in Hogsmeade. "Sir, how many…is everyone alright?"

With a sigh, Dumbledore fixed his eyes upon Lily. "Luckily, only a few students are injured. Miss Weasley," Harry and Ron jumped to their feet automatically.

"What happened to her?" Ron demanded.

"Only a broken wrist. She is being taken care of as we speak as are two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff, none of the injuries life threatening," Dumbledore said.

Nodding, Lily stood up and followed Hermione, Harry, and Ron out of the Hospital Wing, where Madame Pomfrey wasted no time in fussing over them and Lily sat by James' side as he slept peacefully.

**_OOO_**

_Well, there you have it. They're all alive and as happy as they can be given the circumstances! lol!_

_Chapter 13: It's time to party at the Burrow! Because it's only the coolest house ever! _

_Thanks for reading!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** _Maybe one day I'll be like J.K. Rowling...probably not though, so don't count on it. lol_

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers!: Merlin38, harryismyhomeboy, Lena Andromeda Black, sweets555, Biff, laxrules18, Your ray of Sunshine, Bridgette Carter, And So The Wolf Howls, AnIrishLily, Ilove theLORD, Lils, Prince Jonathan's Lover, Kurinoone, killing u with umbrellas, darkmarkgirl, NazgulGirl, warm summer days. You are all amazing! I'm glad you're enjoying it! (I hope I didn't lose any reviewers since I haven't updated in forever...although I wouldn't blame you...)_

_Hey everybody! I'm back! I know, I know, I'm way over due for an update. I'm so sorry for not being here for like the past month and a half, and I know you probably don't want to hear all of my excuses, so I'll just say that I was incredibly busy with school work. But also, the main problem was that I was having major writer's block. I absolutely had no idea how to tackle this chapter, but I finally got an idea today so I ran with it. I hope it turned out okay._

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And again, I'm extremely sorry for the long wait! It shouldn't take that long for me to update from now on. Have fun reading!_

_**OOO**_

**Chapter 13:**

"Mum, it was only a broken wrist!"

Mrs. Weasley had started fussing about everyone the second they had entered through the door. Harry, James, and Lily had been given their fair share of attention from the anxious mother (which James found quite odd seeing as Molly Weasley didn't even technically know him or Lily). Now, it seemed that it was Ginny's turn, Mrs. Weasley's only, and youngest, daughter.

"To think what could have happened if Albus hadn't shown up," Molly exclaimed, observing Ginny's perfectly healed wrist as if she didn't trust anyone, not even Madame Pomfrey, with her daughter's bones.

As Mrs. Weasley continued to survey Ginny despite the young girl's protests, James nudged Lily and the two of them looked about their foreign surroundings. The first thing that both of them immediately felt was that this house was definitely a _home_. Dishes were cleaning themselves in the sinks, moving pictures of the Weasley children were posted randomly upon the walls, and the smell of baking bread drifted from the kitchen. From the outside, The Burrow looked like one gust of wind would push it over, but on the inside the place was so…homey; there was no better word for it.

"Mum, I'm fine!" Ginny claimed loudly, causing Hedwig and Pigwidgeon to hoot objectively from their cages.

Mrs. Weasley observed her daughter shortly for a moment before turning towards the rest of the group. "Alright, why don't you all go and unpack. Harry and James, you are in Ron's room. Lily and Hermione you guys are with Ginny. It may be a bit cramped…"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Lily said politely, picking up the handle of her Hogwart's trunk, "Thanks for having us."

"We're glad to have the company," Molly replied, smiling fondly at Lily. She then turned towards her two kids. "Ron, Ginny, I need you two down here after you unpack. I need help getting everything ready. We're going to have quite a full dinner table tonight."

"The Order coming again?" Ron asked.

"And Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie. I think they are all quite excited about seeing some of you…" she drifted off and glanced amusedly towards Lily and James.

"Ugh, please tell me Phlegm's not going to be shoved in with us three," Ginny said disgustedly, pointing towards herself, Hermione, and Lily.

"Yes, _Fleur_ will be joining you," Mrs. Weasley said, casting a severe look at Ginny, although James was sure he saw the corners of her mouth twitch. "Now, take Hermione and Lily to your room, dear."

The three girls could be heard making their way up the stairs, the sound of their trunks bumping against the stairs heavily accompanied with the voice of Ginny, grumbling about the fact that Phlegm would be in her room.

"So, who's Phlegm?" James asked, following Ron and Harry, who knew the house quite well, up to the very top of the house into Ron's room.

Ron and Harry grinned towards each other, although Ron's was more of a dazed smile than anything else. His bright blue eyes suddenly became quite glassy as Harry shook his head in amazement that Fleur still had that much of an effect on his best mate.

"She's French and marrying Ron's brother, Bill. She's also part Veela, so watch out," Harry advised James, pushing open the door to Ron's room, as Ron himself seemed quite incapable of doing anything else except walk and breathe.

"Woah, Ron mate, do you suppose you have enough orange?" James asked sarcastically, the vibrant orange walls of Ron's bedroom nearly blinding him.

Ron shook his head, coming out of his stupor. "The Chudley Cannons are the best! And I was ten! Give me a break!" He said, plopping down on his bed, and lazily setting his trunk in the middle of the room. "Well, you guys can stay and unpack…I gotta go cut up beans or whatever horror my mum has planned for me, you lucky gits."

Harry immediately stood up, following Ron out of his room. "Don't be stupid, mate. I'll help," he suggested, shrugging.

Ron's face brightened. "Excellent, now I won't have to suffer using potato pickers, or whatever the hell they are, by myself."

"You mean a potato peeler?" Harry asked. The three of them laughed, and James followed them downstairs as well. Almost half way down the stairs, angry voices could be heard. Cautiously, the three boys continued and were greeted by Ginny, Lily, and Hermione at the bottom.

"I wouldn't go in there quite yet," Ginny said, leaning casually against the wall as if this kind of thing happened every day. "Fred and George decided to bring one of their…uh…developing products home. And, well, you know mum…"

At that precise moment they could hear Mrs. Weasley screeching. "…completely irresponsible! How many times have I told you to leave this kind of stuff at your store?"

"Er…" Lily began, "Developing products?"

"I dunno what mum is so mad about, really," Ron said, "Fred and George's business is booming. They own a joke shop in Diagon Ally. Their stuff is genius!"

"It _is_ great stuff; mum is just a bit disappointed that they didn't put their brains to good use," Ginny explained further. They all fell silent for a moment, waiting to hear whether it was safe to enter the kitchen yet. "I think the hurricane is over..." Ginny stated. And she strode through the kitchen doors confidently.

Harry looked after her, slightly bemused. James and Lily grinned at each other. They hadn't really spent much time with Ginny, but the girl had spunk. She was incredibly confident in herself and a very humorous girl, and not to mention she was easy on the eyes. Harry and Ginny was definitely a good possible match.

OOO

At a quarter to seven, there was a knocking at the door. The group of teenagers simply ignored it as they continued setting the tables up outside. It was quite amusing because every so often Fred and George, the only ones who were allowed to use magic, would levitate plates with their wands and smash them into each other, and then quickly repair them with magic. James had to hand it to the two twins; they would have fit right in with him and his fellow Marauders back in his time.

They could hear Mrs. Weasley opening the front door. "Oh, Remus, you're here."

Lily and James dropped the silverware they had been holding. _Remus?_ _Remus Lupin?_ Harry watched his two parents thoughtfully. Before anyone could say anything, James had taken off, running through the back garden, into the house, and through the kitchen; Lily was right on his heels.

James skidded to a halt at the front door, his heart pounding wildly, as he stood right in front of Mrs. Weasley and a man. His light brown hair was graying, and his eyes held a permanent tired look about him. Lines of scars would be seen across his face, yet James recognized him easily.

"Moony?" James blurted out, immediately calling Remus by his old nickname out of habit. A flash of emotions seemed to sweep through Remus' eyes; sadness, disbelief, happiness, then sadness again.

Mrs. Weasley looked between the three of them, before quietly making her way back to the kitchen, leaving them alone.

Why hadn't anyone told James that Remus was still around? It was so strange, yet exhilarating, to see one of his best friends in the future. James and Remus held each other's gaze for a long while, Lily awkwardly standing off to the side.

"Prongs?" Remus choked out. And before either of them really knew what was happening, James and Remus had embraced each other like brothers; adult and teenager, yet best friends. Lily was drawn into the group hug by James, who grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

In the doorway, the Weasleys and Hermione were all watching, each one smiling widely.

OOO

Christmas Eve arrived in a flurry of snow and members of the Order coming in and out through the Burrow. Remus, with the consent of Dumbledore, had stayed at the Burrow and James and Lily had been having fun catching up with him.

Bill and Fleur were currently sitting together on a chair in front of the crackling fire, sharing sentiment kisses with each other, much to the disgust of Ginny.

"So," James said, as he, Remus, Lily, and Harry sat at the table sipping hot chocolate; Ron and Hermione were currently playing chess, and it was easy to say that Hermione was getting her but whipped. "I already know that Peter turned out to be a git," James said, glaring off into space for a second, "you have been around working for the Order, so where's Sirius?"

He'd been wondering this ever since Hermione had mentioned that Sirius had been Harry's godfather; yet no one had ever said anything else about James' best friend. The table went oddly quiet; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley glanced at each other, Harry and Remus paled, and Ron and Hermione momentarily forgot about their chess game as their pieces randomly began beating each other up off their own accord.

"Uh…" Remus started, staring at Harry who nodded subtly as he surveyed the table as if it was the most interesting wooden table he'd ever seen. "James…Sirius is dead."

James blinked. Lily gasped, clasping James' hand underneath the table. There was an absolute silence so thick that it could have been cut to pieces with a knife. "Dead? What do you mean dead?" James asked, completely shocked. He'd always assumed him and his best friends would be around forever, as if they were inevitable to death. But then he remembered sadly that he had died…

"Last summer," Remus continued, swallowing hard. "He went down saving Harry…you know that's how he would have wanted to go."

"He didn't want to go at all!" James objected angrily. Harry vaguely remembered he had said the same thing to Dumbledore at the end of last year.

"It was my fault," Harry said quietly, hanging his head. "If I hadn't been so naïve…"

Hermione and Ginny made to go over to Harry. "Don't say that…you know that's not true," Ginny said, clutching Harry on the shoulder, willing him to look at her.

James glared off into space, his sadness coming out in the form of anger. The feeling of Lily's hand in his own was no longer comforting or warm; he wanted her to leave him alone. He wanted to _be_ alone.

Shoving his seat back forcefully, James got up and marched to the front door, slamming it shut behind him. He walked around the front garden, stomping on the snow angrily as if it would help him vent out his feelings. Spotting a lone bench further along, he made his way towards it and slumped down onto it, the coldness of the wood seeping straight through his jeans.

Sirius was…_dead_. James shook his head, staring around his surroundings, desperately willing himself to grab control of his emotions. Not to soon later, he heard the sound of snow crunching underneath footsteps approaching him. They were too heavy to be Lily's…

"James…" Remus said, sitting down beside his friend. There was silence as the two men simply sat side by side. Having known James for years, Remus let him sit quietly, knowing his friend needed time to think things through before talking.

"You know," James began, "I always thought the future would be so exciting."

Remus nodded. "We all thought it would be great." He agreed, remembering all the times the four Marauders had discussed their bright and famous futures as schoolboys while at Hogwarts. Each boy had thought they would become famous Aurors, or famous Quidditch players, with beautiful wives to have kids with, and most importantly that the four of them would always be friends; would always be the Marauders.

"I didn't expect it to turn out like this," James continued, sighing heavily.

"Well, you're not alone," Remus assured, observing the moon drifting out from behind the clouds. "All of us have been hurt in this war."

_War_. That was such a harsh word. It seemed amazing that such a small word could cause so much upheaval in so many lives. The word itself was like a lethal weapon; hell, it _was_ a weapon. Those three meaningless letters held so much power it was sickening.

"I guess I should be grateful," James said thoughtfully.

Remus smiled. "Yeah, you got Lily Evans finally, and Harry's one special kid." James couldn't help but grin. "There will always be hard times, Prongs; what matters is how you deal with them."

It was as if a light bulb had gone off in James' head, illuminating his thoughts. His heart seemed to lighten enormously. "How did you become the smart one?" James asked jokingly.

"I was always the smart one. Who's the one who always planned the pranks back in school?" Remus countered, grinning as he remembered their times at school.

"True, very true," James said, allowing a soft chuckle to escape from his throat.

OOO

In a much higher spirit than the night before, Christmas morning arrived bringing with it even more snow than the day before. The early morning sun drifted through the thin curtains, reflecting off of Ron's orange walls and peeking through the two of the three sleeping boys' eyelids.

"Oi! It's Christmas, mates! Wake up," Ron bellowed infectiously, scrambling to the end of his bed and observing the small pile of presents at the foot of his bed. Harry and James hadn't moved, each one still soundly sleeping. "Did I not make myself clear? Presents!" Ron yelled again, throwing two of his pillows, one at James and one at Harry.

Simultaneously, Harry and James slowly sat up and bed, both of their black hair messier than usual from sleep. "Merry—" James yawned loudly—"Christmas," he finished, rubbing his eyes and immediately waking at the sight of the pile of presents at the end of his camp-bed.

"Hey, mate, thanks for this! It's wicked! How'd you get them?" Ron said happily, holding up a pair of brand new Gryffindor Quidditch Robes.

Harry grinned. "Lily and Hermione actually helped me with some of the sewing spells, but we turned Oliver's old robes, into brand new Gryffindor Ron Weasley robes."

Draping his new red and gold robes over his pajamas, Ron exclaimed, "You're the best bloody mate a guy could have, Harry!"

The door leading into Ron's room suddenly burst open, admitting Hermione and Lily into the room. "Merry Christmas!" The girls exclaimed happily.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"She's…er…comforting Ron's mum," Lily answered.

Hermione nodded. "Percy sent back his Christmas present."

"Git," Ron and Harry said at the same time. "Anyways, good presents this year?"

Lily and Hermione nodded. "Thanks so much for the Charms book, Harry. It's excellent! I've already read chapter one!"

"No problem," Harry said.

Ron's face reddened, angry at the lack of attention he was getting from his bushy-haired friend. "Hey, what about mine! Did you get mine?" he urged.

"Yeah. The Chudley Cannons tee-shirt made my year, Ron," Hermione said, attempting to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Crossing his arms defiantly over his broad chest, Ron replied, "Well, you're welcome."

The group made small talk, as Lily observed James quietly. She hadn't received a present from him. She felt stupid for admitting it, but she had been looking forward to getting something from him. The two had become a lot closer from this whole experience. Could he had forgotten her so easily?

"Well, let's get downstairs," Ron stated, "Christmas breakfast feast!" Enthusiastically, he grabbed Hermione and Harry around the arm and dragged them down the stairs, the smell of the delicious foods being too much for Ron to resist.

Lily and James were left in a rather uncomfortable silence. James grinned at her and turned to shuffle through his trunk. Lily watched him curiously, wondering what on earth he was doing. When he emerged, his hands were held behind his back. "Merry Christmas, Lily."

From behind his back, he pulled out a delicately wrapped small box and held it out to her. She looked at it. "I thought you had…" she trailed off, embarrassed for almost admitting that she had been disappointed earlier this morning.

The grin on James' face widened. "What? You didn't think I forgot to get you something, did you?" Lily grinned sheepishly, but reached out and took the small parcel.

"I have yours as well," she said, pulling out of her bath robe pocket a square-looking shaped present.

"Open yours first," James insisted, his eyes shining eagerly as he watched Lily slowly take off the festive paper.

She gasped when she pulled out a fine silver chain out of the box. On the chain was a small emerald tear-shaped pendant. "James…it's beautiful!" she said, gazing up at him. He smiled and reached out to put it on her. She held up her hair as he clasped the necklace around her neck.

They stared at each other for a while. "Thank you," she said quietly, losing herself in his gaze. She shyly draped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. A grin passed across James' face as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Now, open yours!" Lily said, releasing herself from James' hold somewhat reluctantly. His embrace had felt so warm, so welcoming, so _right_ to Lily, and she finally began to understand why her future-self had ended up marrying him in the first place.

Out of the wrapping paper fell a picture frame. James picked it up curiously and his face immediately lit up as he saw the picture inside. "Is that—"

"—us," Lily said softly, grinning, "On our wedding day. I got it from Remus."

Speechless for a second, James simply observed the picture. They looked so happy, so care-free. James was all done up in his black tuxedo, his arm around his wife, dressed beautifully in an elegant, long white wedding dress. James watched as his picture-self kissed Lily on the cheek, smiling as if he were the luckiest guy on earth.

"Lily," he began, "this is…so cool!" he finally said. Lily laughed as she took his hand in hers gently.

"I thought so too…we'd better get downstairs before people start wondering where we are," she said, leading the way out of the room.

James' mind recalled back to the picture. Perhaps his future wasn't _all_ that bad.

**_OOO_**

_Well, there's the chapter that's been waiting to be written. Feel free to review and yell at me for not updating for over a month. Haha, I'm kidding...although if you really feel the need to yell at me, I suppose you can if you want (runs and hides under my bed)._

_I'll try to update faster. Definitely faster than this chapter took me anyway._

_Thanks for reading!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** _In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for JK Rowling (So, yes, that means I'm not her...lol). _

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers!!: Kurinoone, harryismyhomeboy, Prince Jonathan's Lover, Mouse and Stupid Productions, buffalo1fromSalem, darkmarkgirl, Charmed Ravenclaw, PrincessKiri14, love-tear-perish, Ellen-D, lonelyaddict, CzechChicka, wishesanddreams, Anonymous, laxrules18, xCHALLEANNEx, warm summer days, PSTurner, Isolde Eris, and Lady Potter of Tortall. You guys are simply amazing! I wish I had enough time to go through and reply to each of your reviews, but I have so much going on that I hardly find time to update this as often as I would like. _

_So, last time I know I said that I would be able to get this chapter done and up faster than the last one, but sadly I think this one took me a bit longer. Sorry guys! Thanks for sticking with me!_

_Oh, and for all of you who live in America or are American citizens, HAPPY THANKSGIVING on Thursday! I can't wait to be able to stuff myself with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy...yum. Oh, and you can't forget my mom's homemade apple pie! Anyways, just have a good thankful day! _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_OOO_**

**Chapter 14:  
**

The Christmas holidays had finally come to an end and the students of Hogwarts were, once again, thrust back into their monotone schedules and classes with teachers who loaded homework down on them. Nonetheless, excitement seemed to radiate throughout the school, mostly do to the fact that Gryffindor would be playing Slytherin in a week's time. Corridors and time between classes were filled with taunts between the two rival houses and a small third year Gryffindor had even landed in the hospital wing after getting in a duel with the Slytherin keeper. McGonagall had threatened to suspend the Slytherin from playing in the match, but Snape had somehow gotten him off the hook.

Lily spent most of her evenings with Hermione as James, Harry, Ron, and even Ginny were practicing Quidditch every hour of the night leading up to the big game. The Gryffindor team always trudged into the common room, red-faced and tired at around 8:30 every night.

However, on a rare night where Harry had called off practice because of a heavy rainfall, the common room was unusually filled and quite noisy. Ginny seemed to be trying to motivate the team with loud jokes and very accurate impersonations of the two Slytherin beaters. Lily watched amusedly as Harry appeared to be taking the moment to laugh at Ginny and talk to her. Over the holidays Lily had figured out that the two liked each other. And then, with the recent break up of Ginny with Dean Thomas, Lily watched as Harry would walk with her in between classes talking about 'Quidditch tactics'.

The couch Lily and Hermione were currently sitting in dipped down slightly as James plopped himself down beside her. "They look a lot like us, don't they?" he asked humorously, pointing with his finger towards Ginny and Harry.

"Except you're usually the one being loud and obnoxious and I'm usually telling you off," Lily replied.

Hermione and James laughed. "Harry is the worst with girls," Hermione commented, closing her book with a snap.

James smiled. "He can't be! He has my genes! Here, watch this," James said. Hermione and Lily shared anxious looks wondering what James was going to do.

"Oi, Harry!" he called out loudly. Even Ginny stopped her fun to listen to who had yelled.

Harry turned and looked over at their couch. "Yeah?"

"You going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Lily put her head in her hands. Meanwhile, Harry looked at his father confusedly. "They're cancelled."

"Right, well if we did have one, would you be single?"

A couple of students sniggered quietly as Harry tried to fight down a blush as Romilda Vane jumped up and tried to cling onto Harry to claim him for her own. "What's it to you?"

"Oh nothing," James said, before turning to face Ginny. "Oi, Ginny!"

Ginny smiled easily. "Why are you yelling? I'm like two feet away from you!"

"Would you be single as well?" James asked. Lily and Hermione, embarrassed for him, tried to pull him down to get him to stop.

"No, I would not go with you, James," she stated jokingly, pushing her red hair out of her face.

James smile widened. "Well, since you won't go with me, and Harry doesn't have a date…" he nodded discreetly from Ginny to Harry clearly trying to give Harry a chance to make his move. However, the raven-haired boy awkwardly told the crowd he was tired and hastily made his way upstairs.

"You're right," James began, as the door to the boys' dormitory snapped shut, "he is rubbish."

A half enraged, half amused Ginny marched up to James and shoved her finger in his chest, causing him to topple over the back of the couch. "You're such a prat!" she said, plopping down beside Hermione.

Rubbing his ribs where the girl had poked him, James leaned comfortably back into the couch. "Why do redheads always have a knack of calling me names?" he asked in a tone of mock sadness.

"Because we're the only ones who will slap you down back into your place," Lily answered, winking at Ginny.

"Fine, I see how it is."

"You just caused Harry to retire to his room out of embarrassment and now he'll probably never get the courage to ask me out, so forgive me for hating you," Ginny explained simply. Identical grins spread across Lily's and James' face, Hermione simply looked bored at this pronouncement as if she'd already heard it years ago.

"I knew it!" Lily exclaimed, leaning over James excitedly to peer at Ginny who didn't look in the least bit embarrassed at what she'd just said.

Although James was happy at figuring out he'd been right as well in knowing something was up between Ginny and Harry, he wasn't much for squealing girl talk. He rolled his eyes as Ginny, Hermione, and Lily discussed all the possibly ways that Harry could possibly ask Ginny out as the two girls reassured Ginny that of course Harry liked her and was just too shy to do anything about it.

"Women…" James muttered quietly to himself.

OOO

"Oh, Gryffindor appears to be in possession of the Quaffle. Did you know that Quaffles used to be filled with fairy dust and—"

"Miss Lovegood, kindly comment on the game," McGonagall's voice broke through the loud speaker.

"Oh, right, sorry Professor," Luna's dreamy voice said, her large blue eyes now following Ginny as she streaked down the pitch towards the Slytherin end.

James swerved away from a Bludger, dodged a Slytherin player, and was now in an open spot where Ginny could pass the Quaffle to him and Gryffindor could score, tying the game. As if she could read his mind, Ginny looked to her left seeing James and quickly passed it. Catching by the tips of his fingers, James quickly turned and threw it. The Gryffindor spectators erupted into cheers as James grinned confidently, high-fiving Ginny.

"…but they finally outlawed the use of the dust realizing that it actually made the players a bit light headed—oh, did someone score?"

Whose ever idea it was to get Luna Lovegood to do the commentating must have been befuddled. James looked over towards the teacher stand where Luna stood with the megaphone and saw McGonagall watching the blonde haired girl wearily, as if she didn't even know how Luna had ended up there.

"Oh, look at Harry go. I hope he's not doing one of those Wonky Feints because there was a study shown that the reason players go into fake dives like that is because a Confudy Budder is pulling them downwards at an alarming speed…" Luna was saying, but no one was paying attention to her. Even the players on the pitch had stopped to watch Harry dive straight towards the middle of the pitch, the Slytherin seeker hot on his heels.

"Yes!" James exclaimed loudly. Harry pulled his broom upwards sharply, his fist thrust into the air and a triumphant look on his face.

McGonagall took the megaphone from Luna. "Gryffindor wins!" She cried hysterically, jumping up and down in a very un-McGonagall-ish fashion.

The team landed in a large mass, everyone clapping Harry on the back as the crowd began making their way onto the pitch. Lily and Hermione ran towards the team, their Gryffindor colored scarves flying madly behind them in the wind.

"Well done, James!" the two girls cried. Lily hugged him tightly, realizing that she had never congratulated him on a game before back in their time.

And it appeared that Lily and James weren't the only ones sharing a friendly moment. Some people in the crowd whistled loudly as Ginny threw her arms around Harry and kissed him right in the middle of everyone. Lily and James smiled at each other as Hermione beamed. Ron, on the other hand, stiffened visibly and looked torn on what to do. He clearly wanted to go pull his best mate off his little sister, but at the same time he didn't.

Harry's green eyes came up and quickly found Ron. In the midst of all the noise Ron stiffly nodded, as if his head was going against his better judgment.

"Well," James said happily, "that was certainly unexpected."

OOO

Harry strolled into the dormitory later that night. Dean, still sour that Harry had gotten together with his ex-girlfriend, simply looked away from the door and got into bed, drawing the curtains around it forcefully.

"Hey, lover-boy," James called out from his spot on the floor. Ron groaned, flinching slightly.

Despite himself, Harry grinned widely and walked over towards them. "What's up?"

"We could ask you the same question," James retorted, intentionally trying to humiliate him.

Ron threw his pillow at Harry. "No, please, we really don't need to know what you and my sister have been up to."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Good. Because I'm not sure I want to tell you."

There was a split second of silence before… "What did you do?" Ron blurted out, the tips of his ears reddening.

"Calm down," Harry replied, laughing, "I was just messing with you."

"You're funny, Harry, bloody hilarious."

Harry smiled, as if he were unable to do anything else, and began shifting through his trunk, finally pulling out two things that made James' grin mischievously: The Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak.

"I'm going down to the kitchens," he replied, after he closed his trunk again. "I missed dinner."

A perfect opportunity had just fallen straight into James' hands. What a better way to get to spend time with Harry. "I'll come!" James said at once, jumping up from his game of Wizard's Chess.

"Alright," Harry said, "Ron, you coming?"

Ron shook his head, looking longingly at the cloak. "Can't. Patrol duties tonight with Hermione."

"Have fun," James said before following his son out the door.

OOO

As Harry and James sat across from each other at a small table down in the kitchens, James couldn't help but realize how little time he had really spent with his son. Although, 'son' wasn't really the right word; well, of course Harry was a combination of his and Lily's DNA, but it just felt weird. After all, James was the same age as Harry and felt hardly ready to be considered a dad. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel a desire to learn everything about him.

A small house elf, with large tennis ball sized eyeballs and so many hats on his head the he looked oddly proportioned, approached the two young men with a tray lined with a variety of foods.

"Dobby is so glad to see Harry Potter again. And now, there's two Harry Potters," the elf named Dobby said, pointing to Harry and James clearly pointing out the striking resemblance between the two of them.

"Hey Dobby," Harry smiled, taking the tray from the elf and placing it on the table himself. "Nice socks," he commented. James looked down and had to stifle a laugh. The elf's socks were neon green with flashing lightening bolts dotted all over the soft fabric.

"Dobby got them especially to remember Harry Potter, sir," Dobby replied, grinning from overlarge ear to overlarge ear. With a bow and a hearty farewell, the house elf backed away leaving Harry and James in silence once again.

"So," James began as Harry dug into his treacle tart, "I hope you've been putting my invisibility cloak and map to good use."

Harry grinned slightly, fingering the light silvery material lying across his lap. "Depends on what you define 'good use' as."

James laughed. "Brilliant. Just, don't tell Lily I'm encouraging you."

A look of realization spread throughout Harry's emerald eyes, as if he'd just remembered something that he had been meaning to ask James. "Hey," he began, "how'd you get on good terms with her?" He asked the question as if it held no real importance to him whatsoever, but James could easily detect the eagerness in his tone of voice.

"Who said I was ever on bad terms with her?" James asked innocently. Harry rose his eyebrows. "Sirius and Remus shared stories with you, didn't they?"

Underneath the table, Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably, but a grin broke out across his face nonetheless. "Well, no actually. Last year I broke into Snape's thoughts he'd stored in a pensieve. Let's just say that I know mum…er…Lily didn't quite think you were such a hot shot."

This conversation was getting interesting. "Just out of curiosity, what was the memory? Snivellus could have tampered with it."

"It wasn't tampered with. Sirius and Remus told me that you had a tendency to act like an idiot when around her, but said you eventually grew out of it during seventh year."

James scowled at hearing that his friends had told his son he'd been an idiot. "Merlin, what great friends I have," he said sarcastically. "Wait…so I definitely get together with Lily then?" he asked suddenly.

Harry smirked. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Oh, right." James chuckled, having momentarily forgotten about that small little factor. Man, he couldn't wait for seventh year…if they ever found their way back again. James was torn. Of course he missed his old time, after all that's where he belonged, when all of his friends were still alive and united; however, he also liked it here where Lily actually talked to him and hugged him, not to mention having met Harry. What would happen when him and Lily finally managed to return? Most likely—since they wouldn't be able to remember anything anyways—Lily would go back to hating his guts and James would go back to bullying Snape and pranking the Slytherins. Is that what he really wanted?

But there was a whole other factor that also played into this huge dilemma. Voldemort. He had already tried doing them in once since they had arrived, and if James knew anything about Voldemort it was that he wouldn't give up. He wanted--no--he _needed _Harry dead. With their arrival into the future, Harry was in even more danger than he ever was when he was without parents.

"You alright?" Harry asked, apparently noticing that fact that James had been staring blankly at the wall for the past five minutes as he sorted through his thoughts.

"Yeah," he replied, trying to regain his jolliness. This was his first time being completely alone with Harry and he didn't want to ruin it by worrying him.

Although, James didn't know that Harry had tried this tactic plenty of times before. "So, am I to guess that you always stare at walls as if they challenged you to a staring contest?" Harry asked casually.

Busted. James looked at Harry closely. "It's just weird, you know? I would have thought Voldemort would have tried something else by now." He tried to voice his thoughts calmly, as if he hadn't spent a lot of time contemplating them.

Harry nodded. "He likes to play games like that. I think he enjoys being unpredictable."

"Well," James began, "he must not be totally unpredictable if you've been able to fight him and survive six times now."

"Yeah, well," Harry shrugged it off, trying to be modest. That was probably the main difference between the two of them; their personalities. While James had grown up as an only child with two very well off parents, Harry had grown up being bullied by his beast of a cousin, Dudley.

"Anyways, how about that Quidditch game, yeah?"

The two spent the rest of time talking about typical guy stuff, including their childhoods and funny stories that had occurred in their life times. It was only until a very grumpy house elf, who claimed he would tell the Headmaster the two had been out of bed three hours past curfew, that Harry and James actually got up and left.

They moved throughout the castle and back up to the Gryffindor corridor huddled underneath the Invisibility Cloak. Both of them had to admit that it was easier with two people who were within a centimeter of each other's heights rather than the usual three or four people they had to hide with the cloak.

Two floors from their destination, Harry suddenly held out his hand causing James to stop. He held the Marauder's Map closer to his face, staring at a spot on the map and then to a place further down the hall. "Come on," he muttered quietly, pulling James along behind him.

As they approached the spot Harry had seen on the map, whispers of two voices drifted out from behind a closed door of an empty classroom. Curiosity overtook both boys' instincts and they moved closer, standing right outside the door, their ears pressed silently against the cool surface.

"…you don't know what you're talking about," an agitated voice said. Despite the hysterical tone of the person, there was no mistaking who that voice belonged to.

"Malfoy…" Harry breathed, pressing his ear closer, if that was possible, to the door.

Footsteps walked across the floor as a second person inside the room seemed to approach Draco Malfoy. "You're racing time now, Draco. The longer it takes you to do this plan of yours the better chance they have of escaping."

James's eyes widened from behind his glasses. His fists clenched. Snape. What was he playing at? Hadn't he saved them? And now it sounded like he wanted to help Malfoy with something that couldn't be anything good.

"Like I don't know that," retorted Malfoy coldly.

Not being put out by Draco's cool, Snape persisted. "If you could just share with me what you're doing—"

"—It's none of your business," Malfoy spat back. "He gave me this job, and now it's more important than ever. He believes in me; I don't need you."

"Stop acting like a child, Draco—"

"Stop acting like you're the boss of me. I know what I have to do and it will work. And besides, it's not like they'll be able to leave anyway. I'm almost always occupying…" Malfoy cut off, aware that he'd almost just let part of his plan slip to Snape, who he desperately didn't want to hear.

Unfortunately, Snape had caught it. "What?"

Draco jumped back into the playing field, overlooking his mistake at once and immediately regaining his posture. "You think you're so smart, playing both sides, but I don't need your help. You just want all the glory. I've heard stories; not all of our kind believe you're little double agent act. You want to regain their trust by carrying out my order that the Dark Lord gave me," Malfoy's voice had raised above a whisper and Harry and James could both hear Snape trying to hush his student.

"Dear Aunt Bellatrix planting lies in your head, Draco? I have enough of his blessing, you on the other hand, do not. If you mess this up—"

"—I won't!" Draco exclaimed. Loud stomps of footprints approached the door and Harry and James quickly moved to the side to avoid being smashed into. Within seconds, Malfoy emerged, his cheeks a tint of red due to the slight argument, and large purple bags gathered around his eyes and his skin held a permanent grey tinge, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Snape followed out soon after and he stalked down the corridor, his long black robes trailing out behind him.

Something evil was on the move, and from the sounds of it, it was happening within Hogwarts' very walls. Snape was right; it was a race against time. Now more than ever, James was positive that he and Lily needed to get out of this decade as soon as possible.

**_OOO_**

_Dun dun dunn! The race is on! Will Malfoy finish his plan first, or will Lily and James finally get back to their old time first? Well, that's for me to know and you to find out! lol_

_Thanks for reading everyone! I appreciate it so much! Hopefully, I'll be able to update sooner than what I have been. Thanks again for sticking with me! Please review! _

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** _Only in my dreams do I own Harry Potter...that seems kind of creepy, doesn't it? Aw well, I'm not J.K. Rowling either way._

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers!: NazgulGirl, laxrules18, Lady Potter of Tortall, Gloryofthesilent, Isolde Eris, Hikari Annie, Lena Andromeda Black, CzechChicka, PrincessKiri14, PSTurner, daydreamin' angel, Red-Devil15, darkmarkgirl, harryismyhomeboy, Kurinoone, smidget, and Spartan Eragon. Seventeen reviews with one chapter! You guys are all amazing! Thank you so so so much!_

_Wow. It's a miracle! I'm updating and it has only been like two weeks since my last update! I feel so accomplished! Even though this is a slightly shorter chapter than usual I'm still proud that I had time to write! Tehe! Well, thanks again for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful week!_

* * *

**Chapter 15:**

January slowly faded into February and it was becoming normal attire for students to wear their heavy winter cloaks throughout the castle. The fierce wind was merciless as it pounded against the castle and carried the cold rain horizontally, making the poor souls who took Care of Magical Creatures miserable. Oddly enough, February seemed to be much more freezing than December or January had ever been.

"Try it again."

James spun around, his hand running through his hair agitatedly. "Lily, there's no use." He kicked a blank piece of wall out of frustration. "It just won't bloody open."

Determined to find a way back to their time, James and Lily had spent much of their free time up on the seventh floor. Though neither of them, including Ron, Hermione, and Harry, hadn't heard of anything else from Malfoy or Snape the group had realized it would be stupid to ignore what Harry and James had overheard. Deciding that whatever Malfoy was planning most definitely had something to do with Voldemort—which consequentially most likely had something to do with Harry, James, and Lily—Lily had agreed that getting out of this decade would be the best for everyone.

However, their attempts to break back into the Room of Requirement had proven to be completely pointless. No matter how many times Lily and James paced back and forth in front of the stretch of blank wall, the room failed to open to them. It was as if someone had turned off the magic and the piece of wall was simply just a wall.

Lily placed the palms of her hands on the stone, as if she could feel the cracks where the door should have been appearing. "I just don't get it," she said, patting the wall and peering at it closely. There was just no acceptable reason why the room shouldn't be working; James had paced by it three times thinking hard of an empty classroom—preferably the one that had landed them here in the first place—but it just _wasn't_ working.

Sighing heavily, James stopped his frantic pacing and glared at the place where the door should have been. "It's _never_ done this before."

"You don't think—" Lily cut off, biting her lower lip nervously, "you don't think that by us coming here we somehow…oh, I dunno, changed the existence of the room or something?"

"How could we have done that?" he snapped.

Slightly taken aback by his tone, Lily's eyes narrowed. "Well, sorry for trying to come up with some sort of explanation."

There was silence as the two contemplated what else they could possibly do before an awkward high-pitched squeal came from further down the corridor.

Lily and James jumped. A short girl—first year by the looks of her—was watching them, her eyes wide and fearful as she clutched a set of brass scales to her chest. The three of them simply stared at each other for a moment, all of them surprised at seeing the other all the way up on the seventh floor.

"Uh…hello," Lily greeted politely. The first year continued to stare at the two of them with her wide blue eyes.

And then, with a sudden crash, the small girl dropped her scales and ran down the hallway and out of sight. Lily and James glanced at each other, both of them thinking along the same lines: _what was that about_? "First years…they get stranger every year," James said, bending down and repairing the smashed scales.

Silence enveloped them again after the sudden departure of the girl. "James, what are we going to do?" Lily asked suddenly, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Well," he said, shifting the set of abandoned brass scales in his arms, "I suppose we should figure out what house the girl is in and then give them to her Head of House—"

"—I'm talking about_ this_, you dimwit," she replied, motioning towards the wall.

The corners of his lips turned upwards. "Oh, right," James said. "I think we should go see Dumbledore."

"Classes start in five minutes," Lily said, glancing at her watch on her wrist.

"All the more reason to go see him, then," he replied, and before she could object he'd grabbed her around the arm and began dragging her down towards the Headmaster's office.

OO

"Lemon drops," James said confidently. The gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office, though, remained motionless staring at James as if silently mocking him. "Oh, come on," he said in disbelief. "He must have changed the password!"

Lily glanced around the empty hallway nervously, looking for any sign of a teacher even though they should all have been teaching a class right now. "Hurry up," she said impatiently, "I'd rather not be caught ditching classes."

Rolling his eyes, James turned back towards the gargoyle. "Come on, it's important!" The little statue remained in the same position, although James could have sworn he saw it move its head from side to side. "Cockroach clusters? Acid Pops?" It still didn't move. Breaking a toe in the process, James kicked the base of the statue angrily. "Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Well, well, well," stated an oily voice from behind the two of them. His heart jumping rather unpleasantly, James slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. For some reason, Lily had risen both her arms up in the air as if she were being arrested. "What do we have here?" continued Snape, his dark eyes observing both of them.

A mixture of annoyance, anger, and extreme hatred washed over James. How dare Snivellus look at the two of them in the face when behind their backs he was attempting to help Malfoy with something that would surely harm them in the process! "Why aren't you two in class?" he demanded.

"We could ask you the same question," James retorted, his hazel eyes glinting dangerously.

Their professor, and long time enemy, towered over them, his stringy black hair falling over his forehead without any grace that Sirius' could have easily accomplished. "I believe detentions are in order." Snape smirked, apparently over-joyed with the fact that in this day and age he was their professor and therefore had the privilege to punish them.

"Please, Sir," Lily began, "we need to see Professor Dumbledore."

Snape sneered at her. "It appears the Headmaster is unavailable at the present time."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Snape asked, clearly gaining enjoyment from denying James Potter of getting what he wanted.

"Just because James made fun of you at school—"

"—I will not be talked to in that manner, Evans," Snape retorted. Any other teacher would have addressed her as 'Miss Evans', but an old school grudge had run deeper than what they could have imagined. "Now, get off to class before I double your week's worth of detentions to two weeks."

James glared as Lily controlled her temper as best as she could; luckily Snape couldn't see her hands shaking in rage.

OOO

Harry looked up from his potion as the door to the dungeons swung open, emitting a ticked off James with Lily following close behind. A feeling of relief spread through him. It was hard when he had found out his parents had returned as their sixteen year old selves; it was even harder to know that at any moment they could leave him again. Quite selfishly, Harry deep down hoped that the Room of Requirement would continue to deny them access. Over the past couple of months he'd grown to think of his mum and dad as two of his really good friends. Although he didn't really view them as his mother and father—for they were so young in appearance—Harry still didn't want them to go.

"Sorry, Professor," he heard Lily say as she approached Slughorn's desk.

Professor Slughorn beamed widely. "Not a worry, my dear girl. Just make sure to come to my party this month and I'll hold no charges." He winked jovially at the redhead, who tried to grin politely. "We're brewing the Cheering solution today. I daresay, you'll have to work fast in order to make up missed time, but with your potion skills I know you'll surprise me again." He ushered Lily off to her desk with his hands, completely ignoring James.

"Didn't work then?" Harry asked, as his parents sat down at a table with him, Ron, and Hermione.

Lily situated her cauldron and lit a small fire underneath it with her wand. "No." She began taking out ingredients.

"And to make matters worse, we ran into Snape," James brought up, conjuring some water from his wand and filling his cauldron with it.

The trio drew in their breaths at the news; they all leaned closer. "What did he say?"

Waving his hand as if it wasn't that important, James answered. "Nothing. Just being a git as usual."

A thoughtful look spread across Harry's face. "Shouldn't he have been teaching?" he whispered in order to keep anyone else from hearing their conversation. The group sprang apart as the potions teacher strolled towards them, glancing into their cauldrons as he popped a candy into his greedy mouth.

"Not unlike him though, is it? I mean, sneaking around the castle with Malfoy late at night and all," Ron said, peering casually at Harry's open copy of the Half Blood Prince's potions text book.

"Ron, you just like suspecting Snape. I bet you he just didn't have a class this period," Hermione explained pointedly.

Before anyone of them could respond, the door to the classroom swung open once again. Speaking of the devil, Draco Malfoy walked in, his school bag falling down his arm as if he didn't have enough energy to swing it up onto his shoulder. Harry glared at him as he exchanged words with Slughorn and, with a scowl, took his seat in the back of the class.

What had he been up to? Malfoy didn't have an excuse to be late; he wasn't attempting to break into the Room of Requirement to—Harry's thoughts broke off as some of Malfoy's words replayed themselves in his head. _And besides, it's not like they'll be able to leave anyway. I'm almost always occupying…_

Now it all made sense. Of course, how could they not have seen it before? The Room of Requirement! That's what Malfoy was occupying; that's where he was working on his plan. Malfoy knew that as long as he occupied the Room of Requirement during every second of free time, Lily and James wouldn't have a chance to escape and his plan would be a success once he put it into action.

"Malfoy's the reason!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, attempting to keep his voice at the bare minimum.

The group turned to look at Harry curiously. "What?" Hermione asked.

"He's in the Room of Requirement every time you try to get in!"

A look of realization hit every one of their faces. "Of course. I bet you only one person can occupy it at a time, because obviously it can't become two different places at once!" Hermione said.

They all jumped when the school bell rang shrilly, announcing the end of class. "Time's up, everyone," Professor Slughorn called from the front of the room. "Kindly bring a sample of your potion to the front of the room and you can be off to lunch."

Malfoy pushed haughtily past Harry as he strolled up to the front of the room. He slammed what appeared to be a mixture of some jumbled up ingredients—seeing as he only had about five minutes to make it—before walking out of the classroom.

"You'll never get in there while Malfoy's guarding it every second," Harry said, filling his own small glass phial with his potion. Part of him was happy at that fact; the other part of him however—the part that secretly knew Lily and James really didn't belong here with him—wanted to help them.

Making up his mind, Harry sighed. "What we need is plan."

* * *

_Never fear, Harry to the rescue! He's such a little hero, how cute. Wow, okay, I really need to go to bed. Haha. Goodnight everyone!_

_Thanks for reading!!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** _I can only imagine how cool it would be to be an author of a best selling series and how awesome it would be to have a wicked cool British accent..._

**A/N:** _Thanks to all of you who reviewed!! TheDarkLordMoldyShorts, Lady Potter of Tortall, daydreamin' angel, Ilove theLORD, E Patronum, Kurinoone, Isolde Eris, Phantom of a Rose, PSTurner, and Gloryofthesilent! Sorry if I missed anyone...my email hasn't been working lately...don't really know why._

_HAPPY (late) NEW YEAR!! I hope you all had a fantastic time bringing in the new year. Hello to 2007! Wow, I can't believe that 2006 is already over. Alright, so enough of me going all sappy about the year being over. But, on the bright side, we now know the title for BOOK 7!! How exciting! It better be coming out soon otherwise I might go insane (okay, so I might be exagerating a bit, but it's still exciting!) _

_So, here's the next chapter. I'm planning on only having one more chapter after this one. This story is coming to an end...how depressing. I've had so much fun writing it!! Anyways, get on and read the chapter and I'll stop my babbling! I hope you all enjoy it!_

* * *

**Chapter 16:**

Harry sighed and looked over at his clock as his stomach growled. How had two hours already passed? Well, actually it had felt like Harry had been in his room pouring over the Marauder's Map for days, not a mere couple of hours.

"Mate," Ron said, "I think it's time you took a break."

If Ron didn't want to help, he could just leave. Granted, Ron had helped for the first forty-five minutes or so before he'd claimed his eyes would melt out of his head if he stared at the map for a second longer. "I can't," Harry replied in an annoyed fashion. Did no one else understand the importance of the matter? Not even Lily and James seemed to care even though this whole ordeal was for their benefit!

When Harry had said they needed a plan to help Lily and James get into the Room of Requirement, he hadn't expected everyone to think he'd already had a plan. Truth be told, Harry had no clue how they were going to draw Malfoy away from the Room of Requirement. Yet, Harry didn't like admitting defeat; he didn't like admitting he didn't know what to do. So, he'd taken liberty to searching the Marauder's Map for hours on end in hopes of finding Malfoy somewhere besides the seventh floor corridor. At least this way it looked like Harry was doing something.

Perhaps if James had offered to help with Harry's lousy attempts of scouring the map then they would have already come up with some sort of conclusion; James had made the map after all and could, therefore, know some sort of tricks or shortcuts. Harry scowled slightly, mad at his parents for not being here to help him. _Although, I should be used to it by now_, Harry thought.

As if he could read his friend's thoughts, Ron sat on the corner of Harry's bed. "You know, I'm sure if you just asked James and Lily to help you they would."

"They're in the library researching any other possible means to time travel," Harry answered dully, bending his neck further over the piece of parchment.

The door to their dormitory swung open and Harry heard soft footsteps that couldn't possibly belong to a boy approach his bedside. He glanced up and to his surprise saw Ginny standing over him.

"It looks like somebody's died in here," she exclaimed jovially, opening the curtains and allowing the sunlight to spread throughout the room.

Harry watched her for a second before turning back to the map in his lap. "Ginny, this is the guys' dormitory," Ron stated.

Ginny smirked. "Really? I had no idea, Ron. Thanks for informing me," she replied cheekily. She shoved Ron off of Harry's bed and sat down in the now vacant spot.

Ron glanced from Harry to his sister uncomfortably. "I—uh…"

Smiling politely, Ginny looked at her brother expectantly as Harry looked from his best mate to his girlfriend. "Yes, brother?"

The tips of Ron's ears reddened. Whether it was out of embarrassment from being stuck with his little sister and her boyfriend, or if it was out of anger that Harry had still asked Ginny out, Harry wasn't sure. But before Harry could reassure that he had no dirty intentions, Ron muttered a small "see ya later" and exited the room rather quickly.

"He's quite pathetic, really," Ginny laughed, pulling her legs up onto the mattress and crossing them Indian-style. When Harry only offered a rather weak smile, Ginny sighed and placed a hand on his leg. "Harry, you're working yourself too hard."

His leg twitched slightly at the contact and his eyes flickered towards his girlfriend's hand to her face. "Not you too," Harry muttered, rubbing his blood-shot eyes.

"Well, it's true," she replied defiantly. She continued to stare at him. "Harry, there's something else wrong."

"What are you talking about?" he snapped back.

"What else is bothering you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," he said, avoiding her gaze.

He jumped slightly when he suddenly felt her right beside him and her hand somehow wound its way into his own. "You're doing a really nice thing, Harry."

Harry turned his head sideways to face her. "What do you—"

"I know you don't want them to go," she replied, squeezing his hand.

How did she know? How did Ginny know that he actually wanted his parents far away from here and that he hated them for ever coming here in the first place? In reality, his girlfriend was right. Harry had known this; there was just something about having someone else say it out loud that made him feel overly pathetic. Fifteen years he'd been without his parents and suddenly he felt like he couldn't live without them?

"It's stupid," Harry muttered, looking away from Ginny and swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

With a nod and without another word, Ginny pulled her hand away from Harry's and reached out to take the Marauder's Map. "Come on; I'll help you."

"You don't have to—"

A smile crossed across her face. "Now, I don't see Malfoy near the dungeons," she began, ignoring her boyfriend as her eyes began scanning the map.

Unable to help it, Harry smiled and scooted closer towards Ginny so he could look at the Marauder's Map as well. "I've already looked there," he announced.

Together, Ginny and Harry continued to devour the map and its contents and never found Malfoy anywhere, which only meant that he was in the Room of Requirement. Despite their failed attempts, the two never stopped. About an hour later, Ginny had taken to resting her head on Harry's shoulder as Harry slouched against the headboard of his four-poster bed.

"I'm convinced Malfoy has chosen to become a secluded soul and he'll spend the rest of his life in the Room of Requirement," Ginny proposed tiredly, running her finger across the surface of the map. "It would be an improvement, though." Harry chuckled as he moved Ginny's finger out of the way so he could see the area of the map it had been covering.

"Harry, James and I—" Harry and Ginny looked up from Harry's bed quickly, snapping their necks up at the sudden interruption, only to find Ron and James standing in the doorway.

Ron's eyes widened, his mouth stuck open, as his eyes traveled from Harry propped up in his bed with his little sister practically sprawled on top of Harry—alright, so maybe her head was simply lying on his shoulder, but Ron's big brother instincts seemed to think way beyond that.

Shoving Ron from behind in order to get him moving again, James nodded off towards Harry and Ginny as if he'd seen this type of stuff everyday. "Hey guys," he greeted.

"Find anything in the library?" Harry asked while eyeing Ron worriedly, trying to communicate that everything was alright. When Ron's ears began heating up, Harry knew that it was a bad sign.

"Nah. Tried to sneak into the Restricted Section but Lily wouldn't allow it," James shrugged, walking over towards Harry and Ginny and leaning over the two so he could get a glimpse of the map. "Any updates on Malfoy?"

Ginny shook her head. "We've been looking for an hour and he—"

Ron's ears reddened even more, reaching a new shade of red that no one had ever seen before. "Wh—I—You've been up here _alone_ for an hour?" he practically stuttered out.

"No," Ginny said slowly, watching her brother, "Harry's been with me."

This appeared to be the wrong thing to say for Ron began stuttering even worse, his face turning from red to white to red again. "What have you been _doing_?" he asked, looking between the two wearily as if part of him didn't even want to know what his little sister had been up to in the boys' dormitory.

"Ron, you're such a—Harry! Look," Ginny suddenly shouted, her head jumping from his shoulder as she pointed to a spot on the map.

Everyone in the room jumped at the sudden outburst, but Harry quickly straightened his glasses and looked to the spot Ginny was pointing towards. The two dots standing in the seventh floor corridor labeled 'Gregory Goyle' and "Vincent Crabbe' had just been joined by a third dot.

"Malfoy! He's out!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up from his bed so suddenly that he knocked heads with James. "Where's Lily?" Harry continued, ignoring his throbbing head.

"With Hermione in the Common Room," James replied, rubbing his head.

To everyone's surprise, Ron was the first one out the door and the rest of the group followed. Harry held the map tight in his hands, every second looking down at it hoping that Malfoy hadn't changed his mind. Yet, the spot right outside the Room of Requirement remained free and Malfoy's labeled dot continued to move further away.

As if they had nothing else better to do, the whole common room turned their heads and watched curiously as some of their fellow Gryffindors raced down the stairs and skidded to a half in front of the best armchairs by the fire. James looked at Lily and then back at all of the faces pressing in on them. "Er…forgot to turn in a library book," he said loudly, hoping to draw the crowd away.

It appeared to work as the Gryffindors turned away and began doing whatever they had been doing before all of the excitement. "I'll take it for you, James," Neville offered, coming up from behind them, "I'm going down there anyway."

"Uh, no that's really alright, Neville," James reassured, knowing he had no book to give to Neville to return anyway.

Hermione and Lily glanced at each other and then back at the boys and Ginny curiously. Once the portrait hole closed behind Neville, James turned back to Lily.

"It's free."

OOO

James and Lily tried to appear casual as they sped walked through the halls and staircases of Hogwarts. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, they tried not to break out into a full sprint, but the need to get to the Room of Requirement while it was still open was strong on their minds.

"So, any ideas on the whole 'subconscious wishing" thing?" James asked.

Lily shook her head. "First things first; I just want to get into that darn room," she replied as they rounded a corner. She didn't really feel like talking for this very well could be that last time that they spend in the future. Part of her was sad; well, more accurately, three fourths of her was upset. Everything that had happened in this time, everything that she had discovered had become a part of her. The second that the Room of Requirement plunged them backwards through time, she wouldn't remember anything. Her and James's friendship, Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys—she wouldn't remember anything and that was a very scary thought indeed.

The worst part was that everyone here would remember them; would remember the good and bad times. Harry wouldn't have the privilege—or the curse depending on which way you looked at it—of not remembering them. He would be able to recall the attack on Hogsmeade and how he and his parents were almost all killed; he would forever have to feel the pain of his parents coming and leaving him again.

Her thoughts continued to carry her and before she knew it, she and James were standing at the end of the seventh floor corridor and Lily's heartbeat rose enormously. "Why did this have to happen?" she sighed, slumping up against the wall and glancing around the deserted corridor.

James frowned. "I'm going to miss it too."

"No you won't," Lily replied. "Don't you see? You can't miss something you never had. Once we step into that room and get back to our own time, we won't remember any of this," she cried, feeling close to tears.

"Lily…" he approached her and held her arms gently. "I—"

"Oh, Miss Evans, there you are."

Lily and James both jumped at the sudden new arrival. Lily's first thought was that Malfoy had returned, but then she stupidly realized that it had been a woman's voice that had spoken. Professor McGonagall stood in the middle of the corridor and something about the way she was looking at Lily made her feel like something was wrong.

"Professor?" James asked, glancing at the blank piece of wall behind them.

McGonagall observed them somberly. "Professor Dumbledore needs to speak to you, Miss Evans."

Lily stepped forward, her face paling. "What is it?"

The stern eyes of the deputy headmistress softened slightly and she motioned with her hand for Lily to follow her. Nervous, Lily began playing with the necklace James had given her that laid around her neck as she glanced at James and then back towards the Room of Requirement. How long would Malfoy stay away from the room? Was it really worth it to find out what Dumbledore had to say anyway?

"Mister Potter, you may come too if you like," McGonagall offered, before she turned on her heel and led the way. Praying that Malfoy would fall asleep or something while they were gone, James threw a worried glance towards Lily before they both followed their professor.

* * *

_Oh dear, they were so close that time, weren't they? Don't worry, this all has a point to it and it will all play out in the end. Thanks for reading and please review!_

**Next chapter:** _...Drum roll, please...The end has finally arrived!_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** _If I were J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't have spent my efforts on finishing this story. I would have put all of my time and energy on Deathly Hallows._

**A/N:** _Thanks to the following reviewers: Dupel, mano, sectumsempra, Mystic.Moonlight817, Marysmary, daydreamin' angel, Isolde Eris, Bridgette Carter, Ilove theLORD, smidget, PrincessKiri14, Phantom of a Rose, Kurinoone, and Lady Potter of Tortall. I know I say this everytime, but I mean it; You are all amazing! Thanks you all so very much for sticking with this story the whole way through!!_

_Well, I'm back after a month break. The end to this story is finally here! I can not believe it! Working on this story has been so much fun and it seems unreal that I finally finished it. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read this story and thank you to all those who reviewed! Without all of you, I probably wouldn't have been motivated to continue on with this story. So, thanks a billion!_

_I hope you find the ending adequate. It took me a while to get it straight, but I think I'm happy with the way it turned out. It's been a true pleasure writing this and, once again, thank you for reading it!_

_Every adventure must come to an end sometime, and here's the ending to James's and Lily's. When we last left off, our favorite Professor McGonagall had oh so nicely interupted Lily's and James's departure. _

_Have fun reading!_

* * *

**Chapter 17:  
**

Any color remaining in her cheeks had dropped, leaving Lily pale and shaken. It felt like she had just been smacked in the gut with a thick tree trunk. She could only just feel the eyes of James and Dumbledore on her, as if they were anticipating her next move. In her current emotional state, however, Lily seemed unable to do anything except sit and stare.

The seemingly never ending silence pressed in on Lily, causing her ears to pound unnaturally. Actually, the silence was worse than the news that had just been dropped onto her. "My sister…" she stuttered out, looking from James to Dumbledore like a small lost child.

"Petunia, Vernon, and their son are currently being attended to—mostly for after effects of the shock," Professor Dumbledore explained.

It was lucky, really. Voldemort had picked the exact wrong moment to attack her sister's home. Apparently, they had been out at a local car exhibit when the Death Eaters had struck Privet Drive. Though no one had been hurt, Lily was still extremely shaken. Voldemort had set out to destroy one of her relatives—her own sister for Merlin's sake. It was true that Lily and Petunia had failed to see eye-to-eye after she had received her Hogwarts letter, but Lily still loved her. And she couldn't help but think how this was all her fault.

"I need to see her," Lily said quietly, her voice shaking as it tried to go around the large golf ball that had lodged itself in her throat. She could feel James instantly move in closer towards her, like a shield of protection.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes dropped; he took off his half-moon spectacles and wiped them on the hem of his robes. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

Everything seemed to stop. "What?"

"I don't believe Voldemort actually intended on killing your sister—that would merely have been a bonus to his mission," Dumbledore explained, almost as if he was talking to himself and he'd forgotten that two teenagers were currently standing in front of his desk.

Rage built up inside of Lily. This old man was going to prevent her from seeing her sister who'd just practically been attacked by some lunatics carrying wands! "What do you mean he didn't intend on killing her? He _destroyed_ Petunia's home!"

Any thought of returning to her original time had flown from her mind; in fact, it was hard to believe that just a few moments before she and James had been racing to the Room of Requirement to escape. Meanwhile, the Dursley's house had been rampaged and Voldemort had acted once again. Lily brushed off James's hand as he rested it on her shoulder; she didn't need comforting. She needed to go see her sister. How could she have been so vain as to forget about her own sister this whole time? How could she not have realized that Petunia would have naturally been in danger?

Lily stared at her headmaster, her breaths deep and somewhat painful. Just at the moment where it looked like Dumbledore was about to speak again, the door to his office flew open. Surprised at the sudden noise, Lily whipped her head around to see the new arrival and immediately tears began to form in her eyes for reasons she didn't know.

"What happened to my aunt and uncle," Harry demanded, strutting into the room, his presence demanding one of attention and a need for answers. For a split second, his eyes widened at seeing his teenage parents still here—weren't they supposed to have gone by now?

Dumbledore conjured a chair out of nowhere, offering a seat to Harry, but like his parents Harry remained standing. "Their home was attacked—"

At this, Harry's eyes widened and a look of alarm spread throughout his emerald eyes, his forehead creasing in concern. Lily caught Harry's gaze and realized that they really were in the same boat—though both of them had bad experiences with Petunia they were still able to feel concerned for her well-being. "_What_?"

"Everyone is fine; luckily neither your aunt, uncle nor your cousin were present at the time of the attack," Dumbledore explained, curling his long fingertips together, clasping his hands in front of him.

A look of relief slowly replaced Harry's expression of worry as he sank into the chair Dumbledore had provided for him. "Where are they now?"

"They are in St. Mungo's and are currently being calmed down from the shock of the situation."

Harry nodded and appeared much more calm than Lily felt. This oddly only heightened her own riling emotions. "Sir, I really need to go talk to her!" she pleaded, placing her hands on the edge of her headmaster's desk. She refrained herself from shouting 'Petunia's blaming me for this! I have to set things right!'

Her sister would never let her live this down. It was just like the summer before Lily's third year; her owl had flown into the kitchen and broken her mother's favorite set of china—Petunia, having found a reason to hate Lily even further for being 'a freak', had blamed Lily for all the havoc. Anything that had gone wrong that summer, whether it be the hot water in the shower running out, Lily was blamed. It was stupid really, but Lily always felt the need to redeem herself.

"I can't allow any of you outside of this castle," Dumbledore said, peering rather seriously at the three of them.

Lily wanted to scream at him, to throw a tantrum in order for him to see how much she needed to see Petunia. From beside her, Harry's back straightened against the back of his chair. "It was a trap, wasn't it?" he asked quickly, watching Dumbledore for any sign of recognition.

Confused, Lily turned towards James, who was looking straight ahead of him, his jaw set determinedly. Did both Harry and James know something that she wasn't catching on to? "You mean," James began, "they're trying to lure us out of Hogwarts?"

_They? Who were 'they'?_

"Precisely. Voldemort knew that if anything were to happen to Harry's aunt or uncle—Miss Evan's sister—then you two would want to step out beyond these walls to make sure that everything was alright with your family." Dumbledore explained, swirling his wand absently around in the silvery mass of thoughts stored in his pensieve.

James glanced at Lily. "Well, what if we transported Petunia here?" he asked, knowing how important it was for Lily to talk to her sister. Lily's heart swelled with gratitude and hope.

Dumbledore frowned. "Well, some disputes fail to heal—Petunia and her husband refuse to step foot into such a magical place as Hogwarts."

Lily matched Dumbledore's expression as she too allowed the corners of her lips to turn downwards. Why was her sister so stubborn? Didn't she too want to see her sister that had returned from the dead?—in a matter of speaking. Her heart sunk, never really quite realizing how much her sister actually hated her. The familiar sensation of tears prickling her eyes stung her eyelids and she hastily wiped the liquid away.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Harry asked. The sun was setting outside the window, casting an eerie glow onto Harry's mass of black hair.

"For right now," Dumbledore began, stroking Fawkes welcoming head, "stay in the castle. Don't go wandering off unless absolutely necessary." For reasons unbeknownst to Lily, Dumbledore's eyes lingered on Lily and James for a fraction of a second before he stood up gracefully. It was hard to imagine that Dumbledore was an old man at times.

With a small creak, the door to the headmaster's office swung open as Dumbledore waved his wand in a small circular motion. The wizened man then turned his back and gazed out the window that gave a spectacular view of the grounds. Harry and James glanced at each other and then back at Lily, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Come on," Harry said, "we should go."

James nodded and touched Lily gently on the arm, causing her to jump at the contact. Her scared eyes turned towards him, and realizing that she really had no other choice, followed the two boys out of the office. Why couldn't Dumbledore just force her sister and the family to move into Hogwarts, where they would be safe and protected? Though, Lily could realize why Petunia would see something wrong with that option. Magic had been the one thing that had always caused trouble for her; it was no wonder Petunia didn't want to even touch Hogwarts with a ten foot pole.

"I thought you guys had left," Harry accused, marching ahead of the two of them as if they'd done something to tick him off.

"Well, we were…until we got interrupted," James explained as they stepped out into the corridors of the school. Everything was quiet; like the school had been deserted. Everyone was most likely in the Great Hall having dinner.

Harry sighed. "Yeah, well, Malfoy's probably back in the room now. You two should have just gone."

"McGonagall cornered us," James fought back, not liking how Harry was talking to them. It was like he was accusing them of what had happened.

"So?" Harry countered. "She wouldn't have even been able to give you a detention for disobeying her! You would have been twenty years away from here."

Lily, who had been quiet up until this point, stepped in front of the two bickering boys. "Will you two stop?" James and Harry did, in fact, cease their bickering. "What's done is done! We can't go back and change it!" she yelled, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. _Bloody emotions_.

Despite what she had said, she surprisingly agreed with Harry. They should have just left. All of these problems shouldn't be her problems to deal with! She and James didn't belong here! They were meant to be back in their own time, with their friends, where Petunia was childless and hadn't even been threatened by the most evil Wizard of the century.

There was a silence as Lily glared hard at each of them, a few tears leaking from her eyes. Harry and James gaped, unable to stop her, as Lily spun on her heel without another word and drifted off down the hall. The whole thing had happened so suddenly that they didn't even have the sense to call her back. Instead, they simply watched her silently as Lily began sprinting up the stairs and around the corner until she was out of their line of sight.

Each feeling responsible for reducing the red head to tears, the two boys hung their heads ashamedly. "I should go find her," James mumbled, glancing at Harry.

"How?"

"I have a hunch," James replied, the tension evaporating between the two.

Harry nodded, fully understanding what James meant and where he was planning on looking for Lily. "Right."

"Well…see you, Harry." For a brief second, James clapped Harry on the back.

"Tell her I said bye," Harry stated.

OOO

James took an intake of breath, filling his lungs to their fullest capacity. He stood, looking apprehensively at where the door to the Room or Requirement should be. Was it empty? What would he find if he could get in? Would Lily still be there? He began to panic. What if Lily had found her way back, but James couldn't. What would he do? James breathed deeply again. Well, there was only one way to find out.

Thinking hard of an empty classroom—a quiet place to think—James stalked past the blank piece of wall three times. He desperately hoped that that's what Lily had thought of if she'd come up here, like James's assumed she had. After he'd finished, James realized that sometime during the process he'd clamped his eyes shut. Trying to control his nerves, James slowly opened his eyes.

The door was there. His heart jumped sharply at the sight of it and he hurriedly ran forwards and wrenched open the door, like if he waited a second longer it would disappear. So, Malfoy hadn't come back! What luck! A greater and much stronger feeling of relief flooded his mind as he next landed his gaze on a familiar head of red hair. "Lily!" He cried, shutting the door and literally pouncing on Lily.

Her hand was clamped tightly around the necklace that James had given her as she stared ahead of her silently. She didn't even respond to him as he hugged her. "This is so wrong!" she whispered, her voice coming out in choked sobs.

Confused, James released his hold on her and he stumbled backwards. "Wha…?"

Lily waved her arms around. "_This_! This whole thing it messed up. Voldemort going after my sister, Voldemort coming after us! We even had a kid for Merlin's sake!"

Lily hadn't given an outburst like this for quite some time. Actually, up until this point, James had thought they'd gotten over all the surprises of the future and had learned to live with them. "Lily…" he stepped closer towards her, and he saw her nervously tugging on the delicate chain around her neck. She seemed drawn between allowing him to touch her and walking away. At first, he didn't understand her hesitancy, and then it struck him.

They were _in_ the Room of Requirement; not standing outside it, looking at it longingly, but actually _in _it. They were closer to home than they had been for the past few months. They were that much closer to being thrust back to the time where they hated each other—well, when Lily hated him and he was hopelessly chasing after her.

At this thought, he stopped in his tracks and stood, staring at her. "I'm sorry…" he said quietly, almost inaudibly. It was the first thing he could think of saying.

Tears began trailing down her cheeks, leaving salty lines behind. "I just—" she broke off, staring down at the small emerald pendant hanging on the necklace. With sad eyes, she looked back up at him. "I just wish none of this had happened. I wish we hadn't ended up here. We made things so much worse! I really wish we could just go back."

The words were the pure truth, and James couldn't help but agree. They had been living in almost a kind of dream world; an alternate universe. It was time to wake up to reality. "I know," he agreed. If he could get Lily Evans to befriend him in the future, why couldn't he do the same thing in the past? He was determined to.

And then, breaking his chain of thoughts, the dim lights in the room went out, dousing the Room of Requirement in nothing but darkness. James was just about to step forward to face the unknown when he felt the floor begin to spin. Quite suddenly, it occurred to him what was happening, and then his heart dropped as the floor opened up and dropped him at an alarming rate.

Flashes of memories began flying around him as he fell. He didn't remember falling for this long when the room had first time-traveled him and Lily. At the thought of Lily's name, James's immediately began thinking of a good way to ask her out to Hogsmeade for the next weekend trip; the mistletoe idea hadn't gone over so well. Wait, Dumbledore had cancelled trips to the village, hadn't he? No, that was absurd. And hadn't he already succeeded at getting a date with Lily? James hastily raked his brain for answers, but as soon as he grasped a memory it slipped away.

And then, when he felt like pulling his hair out because he was so frustrated he couldn't think straight, he crashed with a thud. His glasses slipped off of his nose and he heard them skid across the ground. What in the world had just happened? The last thing he remembered, he'd been fighting with Lily and she'd threatened to hex him into the future…

Tenderly, he stood up, and then stupidly realized he couldn't see without his glasses. In a blur, he saw something that resembled a body approach him, something red sitting on top of where he guessed the person's head was.

"Lost something, Potter?"

James couldn't help but grin as he felt a familiar pair of round rimmed glasses being shoved into his hands. "Thanks for caring, Evans," he retorted, placing his glasses back onto his face. "What the hell did you do?" he asked, referring to the rude fall he'd just experienced. "Attempted to blast me into the future? Nice try, love."

Lily screamed with agitation, placing her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor of the empty classroom they were standing it. "I did not! You must have done it!"

Smirking now, James crossed his arms casually across his chest. "Why would _I_ have done that?"

"You're seriously asking that question?" she said sarcastically, her hands shaking out of pure irritation. "May I remind you that I had to spend the whole day fighting off a piece of charmed mistletoe?"

James chuckled, rubbing a hand through his messy hair. "That was classic!"

He knew that he was annoying her, but that's what he did best. How else would he get her attention? "You're so immature," she stated, glaring at him incredulously, amazed that a sixteen year old boy could be so childish. "Can't you just leave me alone for once?" Lily asked, stalking towards the door and wrenching it open. She'd had had enough; he had pushed her to her limit.

"You're asking for the unthinkable, Evans," James replied smugly, wanting to push her just a bit more.

Lily spun around, her face livid. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but notice a rather pretty looking necklace hanging from her neck. There was a simple, yet elegant, tear shaped emerald on it. James swore she'd never worn it before. Had some guy given it to her? Did she somehow gain a boyfriend in the past twenty-four hours?

"Nice necklace," he said somewhat questioningly, motioning towards her chest. He hoped she would give him answers so if a guy had given it to her James and his faithful Marauders could go pummel the guts out of the guy.

For a second, she seemed enraged that his eyes were anywhere near her chest level, but then her eyes softened. She quickly became confused. "Necklace? _What_? I wasn't wearing—" she looked down and screamed—"Is this some sort of tracking device you put on me, Potter?"

"_What_? I did no such thing!" James fought back to her absurdity, approaching her. He reached out to touch the necklace and for some reason she didn't draw away. Maybe it was because she was so shocked that he had even dared to touch her, or maybe the fall had addled her brain—but, for whatever reason, she simply stood there and didn't try to run away or even hit him. Gently, he placed the pendant in the palm of his hand. As he touched it, a tingling sensation spread down his fingertips and Lily shivered. He looked at her.

Her voice was rather breathless, James noticed, as she said, "What are you _doing_?"

James dropped the necklace, letting it fall back down around her neck. It hung there ominously, like it was beckoning James towards it. He had never seen this thing in his life, yet it felt like he had. For some reason, he got the feeling that the necklace was safe and there would be no need to threaten whoever had given it to her. "It looks nice on you, Lily."

She watched him carefully, her cheeks oddly flushed. "Thanks, James."

Both of them froze simultaneously.

_What _was _that?_

They had just referred to each other as 'James' and 'Lily'. What happened to the last name basis relationship? They stared at each other, both of their eyes widened with disbelief at their uncommon civility towards each other. Something had happened; James must have finally done something right, but he had no clue what he had done. He had touched her necklace; was that some sort of sign for a truce?

"Uh…" Lily cast her eyes down to observe the mysterious necklace, breaking their eye contact. "I better…I mean—I have to go."

She opened the door and stepped out; however, she stopped in the threshold of the door and looked back at James. Her gaze wasn't hostile or annoyed; for once it was indifferent, even slightly shocked. Well, that made two of them.

As he watched Lily turn around hesitantly and then walk away, James couldn't help but allow a large grin to spread across his face. Even though he didn't have a clue as to what had just happened, he was more happy than he could ever remember being.

Girls really were confusing.

OOO

Sighing deeply, Harry peered at the empty bed beside him—the bed that James would have been occupying if he were here. He knew they were gone; he didn't know how he knew but he did. It was like there had been some sort of connection between the three of them and it had just been cut off, like a lousy telephone connection. Sadness swept throughout Harry's heart; is this what he had felt like when his parents had been killed in front of his eyes? Harry didn't know; he'd only been a baby then.

The moonlight filtered through the small window between his bed and James's empty one. As he followed the path of the light, Harry's eyes landed on something glittering on James's bedside table. For a second, he simply stared at it, but then his curiosity of what it was overwhelmed him.

Quietly, Harry threw his legs over the side of his bed and walked the few feet to his dad's nightstand. Ron snored suddenly, but Harry ignored it as he reached out and picked up the mysterious object. He wanted to cry and smile all at once. It was picture of his mum and his dad at their wedding; the very same picture that Remus had given to Lily who had given it to James.

Oddly, as he watched the moving photograph, Harry was reassured that his parents hadn't truly left him. They belonged back in their time; if they didn't, well, then Harry most likely wouldn't be here now. Clasping the picture frame in his sweaty hand, Harry walked back to his bed and propped the picture up on the table beside his own bed.

Somewhere, he knew that James and Lily were currently back to their old lives, perhaps arguing. Hopefully James would take the hint that being cocky and showing off hadn't been working for him. Wherever they were at this present moment, Harry hoped that, despite the fact they wouldn't be able to remember anything from their trip to the future, his parents would somehow remember that they could love each other.

Looking back at the picture, Harry smiled. Not even the thought of Voldemort out in the open, or the thought of what type of evil Malfoy could be conjuring up in the Room of Requirement, could hinder Harry's hope for his parents' future. With that thought, Harry fell asleep, wondering happily the reaction Voldemort was going to have after he realized that his plans had, once again, been thwarted.

* * *

_Annnnd, that's a WRAP! Oh. My. Gosh. It's over!_

_Alright, just so that none of you think having Petunia's house being attacked was pointless, I'm going to explain. That part was actually crucial to how James and Lily returned back to their time. If you recall, in order to activate the Room of Requirement, the person must wish for something 'subconsciously'. The attack on her sister's home sort of awakened Lily and caused her to wish none of this had happened. By wishing for something so naturally, the room was activated and thus sent her and James back to their time. Phew, what an explanation. Hopefully, that didn't just confuse you all more, because it sure did mess with my brain. _

_Anyways, thank you so much for reading!!! I hope you all enjoyed it, and a great way to let me know your thoughts is by clicking that little review button down there. _

_Until next time,_

_--HeyLookTheSnitch_


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